ILLUSTRATIONS 

OF 

JERUSALEM AND MOUNT SINAI ; 




INCLUDING THE 



MOST INTERESTING SITES 

BETWEEN 

GRAND CAIRO AND BEIROUT. 

FROM DRAWINGS BY F: ARUNDALE, 

// — 

ARCHITECT. 

WITH A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF HIS 

TOUR AND RESIDENCE 

IN THOSE REMARKABLE COUNTRIES. 



LONDON : 

HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, 

GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET; 

SOLD ALSO BY ACKERMANN AND CO., STRAND ; R. ACKERMANN, 191, REGENT STREET : 
AND BY THE AUTHOR, 11, ARGYLL PLACE, REGENT STREET. 

1837. 



LONDON t 

SHOBERI., JUN., LEICESTER STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE. 



TO 

SIR THOMAS DYKE ACLAND, BART., 

THIS WORK IS MOST HUMBLY INSCRIBED, 

AS A TOKEN OF 
RESPECT AND ESTEEM, 

FROM HIS VERY OBEDIENT SERVANT, 

THE AUTHOR, 



PREFACE. 

As the particular object of the present work is not the description, so 
much as the delineation, of the different places through which the author 
passed when returning from Egypt, it is presumed it may require some 
indulgence from the public. Much has already been written on Palestine by 
the most able travellers, and much information has been gained from their 
labours respecting the present state of a country familiar to us from child- 
hood, as connected with the great events contained in sacred history. 

The works of Maundrell and Pococke rank high among the descriptions 
of the Holy Land. To the indefatigable Burckhardt we are much indebted 
for investigating with such ardent zeal a tract of country little before 
known. The descriptions by Dr. Richardson and Mr. Buckingham will be 
found of great service to the traveller, who may have the intention of 
visiting Palestine. 

To Captain the Honourable L. J. Irby, and James Mangles, Esq. (whose 
work was printed for private distribution), geographical science is deeply 
indebted, particularly for their researches round the Dead Sea — to each of 
these travellers the author begs to acknowledge the information he has 
derived from the perusal of their valuable works. Their unwearied labours 
to advance the knowledge of history and geography, in one of the most 
inleresting portions of the globe, will confer a benefit on distant ages. 

But the facility of travelling assisting the desire of information at the 



vi PREFACE. 

present day, induces a multitude to visit various countries, according to 
their peculiar taste, and thus gratify a laudable curiosity. Though few 
may now merit the palm awarded to success in the difficult and dangerous 
task of first adventures, yet the unprejudiced mind that discerns the good 
as well as the bad qualities of other nations, may glean much information, 
and perhaps derive much benefit, from observing not only the country, but 
the customs and manners, of the people who may have been hitherto 
regarded as most uncivilized. 

The circumstance of Syria being under the dominion of the Turks, the 
little facility or accommodation afforded to the European traveller — the 
want of those luxuries which (forgetting the difference of climate) the 
English stranger fancies necessaries, and the fatiguing slowness of the 
travelling, over a mountainous country, where the roads are not improved 
by art, demand great moral, as well as physical courage, to endure the 
constant vexations and privations that await the traveller. But so 
numerous are the reasons by which many might be deterred who anxiously 
wish to visit this interesting country , that it would be needless to cite them ; 
to such I beg to submit the following views, as fac-similes of sketches taken 
on the spot. The eye of the painter will doubtless see in them much that 
might be improved ; as, in the descriptions, the poet might embellish many 
of the scenes. The simple narrative of the events of each day, with the 
opinions of various celebrated travellers on the objects and places con- 
nected with sacred history, interspersed with a few historical data, in- 
teresting to every reader who peruses the description of a country and 
city " once the joy of the whole earth," but deprived of all its former 
splendour, with now " not one stone left upon another," is all that is offered 



PREFACE. vii 

to the reader in these pages. This, it is to be hoped, may give interest to 
the views ; and the views may serve, in their turn, to illustrate more clearly 
and make amends for any deficiency in the description. 

To Mr. T. B. Shaw, of St. John's College, Cambridge, the author has to 
return many thanks for the assistance afforded him in collecting the 
opinions of various travellers and authors ; as well as to Mr. J. J. Scoles 
and Mr. F. Catherwood for permitting him to avail himself of their valuable 
plans of the Holy City. 

The route from Grand Cairo to Beirout, passing by Suez, and visiting- 
Mount Sinai, is not likely to be attended with either danger or fatigue to 
the traveller, which might arise from the constant tumults among the 
different Arab tribes ; should he wish to pursue his journey further eastward. 
He may also ensure a kind reception at the Convent of Mount Sinai ; great 
hospitality being the usual character of these establishments ; places of 
refuge, where the traveller may repose, without fear of molestation, and 
enjoy every necessary he can desire. 

The particular specification of the time employed on the journey may also 
be of service to many, it being difficult to persuade either the camel-driver 
or muleteer to increase his usual rate of travelling. 

The necessaries required for the journey, the delays occasioned by the 
negligence, or natural tardiness of the people, will also be noted ; making, 
it is hoped, the following tour serviceable as a guide to the future traveller, 
who, the author trusts, after passing the same route, will be enabled to 
bear witness to its correctness. This attempt to unite illustration with 
description will, he hopes, be successful in rendering it of some interest to 
the general reader. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 

Dress of an Inhabitant of Mount Libanon ...... To face title. 

Map of the Route from Grand Cairo to Mount Sinai, Jerusalem, and Beirout . . 1 
View of Suez on the Red Sea ......... .11 

The Wady Feiran, Desert of Mount Sinai . . . ... . . .20 

View of the Convent, Mount Sinai ........ .23 

Chapel of the Burning Bush, Mount Sinai . . . . . . . . 26 v 

View of the Tomb of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai ...... . 28 / 

View from the Top of Mount Sinai ......... 32 

The Stone struck by Moses, Mount Sinai ....... .33 

Mount Moriah and the Village of Siloam . . . . . . . . . 40 ✓ 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre . . 43 ✓ 

View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives . . . . . . . . 50 " 

Plan of Jerusalem . ........ . .54 

Mount Zion, from the Hill of Evil Counsel 58 ■ 

The Pool of Bethesda . 66 - 

The Village of Bethany . 67 ^ 

Arch of the " Ecce Homo " . 67 - 

The Pillar of Absalom 68 < 

Nazareth from the South ........... . 97 v 

Mount Libanon from Cape Bianco . . . . . . . . . . 108 ^ 

View of Saide, the Ancient Sidon . . . . . . . . . . 113 * 

View of Beirout . . . . „ . . . . . . .115 



.A3P 

OF the ROUTE yi?<?J/ 

.<&MAOT> - CAIJRO 

TO 

;\H §i^AI,JEB.TUSAILEM, AND BEIB.O! T T. 

WZX2Z ZffE COUNTRIES ADJACENT.- _ 

Skewing also the Route of the, Children of Israeli. 




JOURNAL OF A TOUR 

TO 

JERUSALEM AND MOUNT SINAI. 




UUP ART UK K FROM CAIRO. 



CHAPTER I. 

« 

Preparations for the Journey — Provisions — Leaving Cairo — Delays — Tombs of the 
Caliphs — Supply of Water — Canal of the Nile — Indolent Character of the 
Turks — The Bedouin Arabs — Last Sight of Cairo — Sandhills — Nature of the 
Soil — Arrival at Kalat Ajeroud — First View of Suez— Arrival at the Well. 

The facility of travelling in Europe is daily increasing ; every ima- 
ginable convenience is adopted to render a journey less fatiguing to the 
traveller, and cause his motion or rest to be attended with luxury and ease. 
Only anxious to arrive at a destined place, rapidity also suits his inclina- 
tion, as it enables him to relate, with an air of satisfaction, the distance he 
has traversed in the short space of time his circumstances permitted him to 
enjoy. It is not so in the East ; he will there find a very different manner 
of travelling, a mode of journeying unaltered since the days of the Patriarch 

B 



2 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



Isaac ;* the same simplicity of manners and costume may be still observed 
amongst the Arabs of the Desert. The traveller, therefore, would do well 
to conform entirely to the manners and usages of a people and country, 
the unvarying nature of whose habits, during so many centuries, will alone 
be sufficient proof of the necessity. It is by these means alone that he can 
expect to derive either pleasure or benefit from his journeys ; and difficult 
as he may find it to preserve his temper amongst the many vexations 
which he must expect to encounter, it is only by so doing that he can gain 
the friendship of those under whose protection he places himself; this once 
effected, he will have nothing to fear, as the friendship and the enmity of the 
Arabs are equally fervent. The servants also, whom it may be necessary 
to engage in the country, should be men whose characters are well known 
and ascertained : for this reason, if the traveller has any intention of as- 
cending the Nile, or crossing the Desert, their good or bad qualities will 
have a perpetual influence upon his comfort, safety, and convenience. 

The previous residence of my companions and myself in Egypt caused 
us to be very fortunate in this respect, in the services of persons much 
attached to us. For some days previous to our departure, all was activity, 
all were employed in procuring every necessary for the journey. Our 
arrangement with the Sheikh of the camel-drivers proved a more tedious 
operation than that of securing a conveyance at a coach-office in our own 
country ; but this satisfactorily settled, the number of camels and men 
determined, and our money deposited, the day was fixed for our departure. 
The provisions principally necessary were rice, sea-biscuit, in place of 
bread, easily procured at Cairo ; coffee is also indispensable, as without it 
the Arabs would not be able to proceed ; it is a present always most ac- 
ceptable, and the signal to halt for the refreshment of a pipe and a cup 
of coffee is hailed with satisfaction by all. Coffee is the wine of the East ; 
dissipating alike the effects of heat and fatigue, and alleviating thirst, it 

* Gen. 24th. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



3 



" maketh glad the heart" of all who journey over the Desert: it is usual 
to take the berry unroasted, as the roasting and grinding every time that 
it is wanted constitute much of the excellence of its flavour. Tobacco of 
course must be procured, and in sufficient quantity to allow occasional 
presents : every traveller in the East soon becomes acquainted with the high 
estimation in which this article of commerce is held ; it is not necessary to 
procure the best : care should be taken that the skins which contain the 
water are in proper order ; a small quantity of spirituous liquor may also 
be of service ; salt, cheese ; dates, and other dried fruit, must not be for- 
gotten. Gunpowder and small glass beads, much prized by the Arabs, 
will be serviceable as presents. A tent and carpets are also indispensable 
for repose and shelter from the heat of the sun ; a canteen proved also very 
convenient for many smaller things. We purchased these necessaries our- 
selves from the bazaar at Cairo ; and the day of departure being fixed for 
the 29th of August, 1833, in the morning all was activity — some little re- 
quisite was constantly to be attended to. Our small caravan consisted 
only of nine camels, yet the assembling the animals, with their drivers and 
Sheikh, and their lading, was an affair that took some time, and formed 
a scene of great confusion : the shouting of the Arabs and the plaintive 
cries of the camels, the disputes in equalizing the baggage, caused an ob- 
struction in the narrow street, augmented by the curiosity of the idle. 

It was near the time of evening prayer among the Mahomedans, before 
we fairly started. Slowly proceeding through the bazaars, preceded by 
the Sheikh, and accompanied by my two companions, Mr. Bonomi and 
Mr. Catherwood, (the former well versed in Oriental manners) I arrived 
at the Baab-el-Nasr, one of the gates of the city, its inscription in Arabic 
recording no historical data, but simply announcing the profession of faith 
— " There is no God but God, and Mahomet is the Prophet of God, and 
Ali the friend of God — may the divine grace rest upon both ! " 

It was at this moment that the same cry resounded from the different mi- 

b 2 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



narets;the last rays of the sun had just disappeared from the gilded 
crescent surmounting the cupola ; the line of horizon was without a cloud, 
the beautiful tints of sunset glowing on the level plain, uninterrupted save 
by a few date trees, and the splendid remains of the ancient Hieropolis — now 
half buried in the sand — accorded well with the tranquillity we were now 
enjoying, and afforded a striking contrast to the noise and bustle of the 
bazaars. The twilight was gradually encroaching on us ; some fresh ar- 
rangement of the baggage was deemed expedient : descending from the 
camels, we halted for the night, having travelled only a short distance from 
the walls of Cairo. 

The following morning we were all in readiness by sunrise, taking the 
direct route to Suez, which is also that of the great caravan to Mecca ; the 
first object of interest that we arrived at was the " Birket-el-Hadj " — the 
Pilgrims' Lake. Here we remained about three hours, in order to take in a 
fresh supply of water, which was to serve till we arrived at Suez. Leaving 
the well about mid-day, we soon entered an extensive, sandy plain, where 
everything presented a very different appearance from the fertile banks of 
the Nile, whose silver line we could now but faintly trace. To the left of our 
route was an extensive mound of sand, beyond which was the ancient 
canal, uniting the Nile and the Red Sea. This caual Strabo (Book XVII.) 
mentions as having been originally made in the time of Sesostris, of one hun- 
dred cubits in width, and of sufficient depth for the largest vessels. After the 
invasion of the Greeks, it was repaired by the Ptolemies, as likewise under 
the Romans by the Emperor Trajan ; from that time it has been gradually 
choked with sand, and now hardly a vestige of this stupendous work 
remains. Napoleon would doubtless have re-united the two seas, had the 
French army remained in Egypt, and thus have achieved a work of 
greater importance than the road across the Simplon, which must ever be 
looked upon as the most beneficial monument that Emperor has left to 
posterity. 



« 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



5 



Our route was across a variety of sandy hillocks : every now and then 
1 could still perceive the domes and minarets of Cairo ; and the Pyramids, 
though at some distance on the opposite bank of the Nile, I could yet 
plainly discern ; but, in a short time, owing' to the sandy state of the 
atmosphere, I lost sight of both Cairo and those eternal landmarks whose 
history still remains enveloped in obscurity. 

We were now surrounded by the Desert — no sign of habitation appeared ; 
we followed a track well known by the Arabs, who make constant jour- 
neys to Suez. About sunset we pitched our tents for the night, and the 
following morning were again proceeding on our journey by half-past six. I 
perceived this morning a great difference in the temperature from that of 
the day preceding; we were surrounded by a thick mist, probably the effect 
of the Khamseen wind. As the day advanced, the atmosphere became clearer ; 
our route was nearly due east ; to the south was a chain of mountains, called 
Djebal Adaka, and a variety of sandy hillocks. It was probably by this route 
that the Children of Israel came to the borders of the Red Sea : " Speak 
unto the Children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, 
between Migdol and the sea, over-against Baal-zephon ; before it shall ye 
encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They 
are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in."* 

We reposed about mid-day for three hours, and then continued over much 
of the same rocky and sandy soil until sunset. I perceived this afternoon 
many specimens of petrified wood about a foot in length ; but rarely did I 
see even a vestige of vegetation. The Arabs, in the mean time, were 
engaged in noisy arguments about the supply of water, of which, perhaps, 
they had been improvident, or were too lazy to obtain at the well the neces- 
sary supply. But, though vehement in their expressions against one 
another, it ended, after a short time, in silence, each one, perhaps, being- 
convinced that he could not with impunity blame the others. 

Gen. xiv., 2, 3. 



6 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



We halted at sunset ; the water was used more circumspectly ; but 
over the dish of rice all again were in perfect good fellowship : the 
camels, eased of their burdens, were enjoying their meal ; the pipe 
and coffee, so acceptable to each after the day's fatigue, renewed the 
tranquillity ; this invited to repose, and having secured the camels, and 
wrapping themselves in the folds of their abah (mantle), they soon sunk 
to sleep upon the sand, perfectly secure from any midnight attack, as 
this part of the Desert is inhabited by the same tribe of Arabs, amongst 
whom there is a perfect unity, and whose principal occupation is in 
conducting the caravans ; but, should they encroach upon the terri- 
tories of others, they sometimes pay dearly for their temerity ; the 
caravan is in danger of being plundered, or a heavy fine imposed upon the 
Sheikh. 

Their extensive country, divided into three great divisions, Arabia Felix, 
Arabia Deserta, and Arabia Petrsea, is subdivided by the territories of dif- 
ferent tribes ; all alike boasting their descent from Ishmael, the son of 
Hagar ; and certainly, in these people, the words of Scripture have been 
verified — " For I will make Mm a great nation ;"* for never having been 
entirely subjugated by a foreign yoke, they enjoy that independence as a 
nation so peculiarly their characteristic of each individually. 

The Bedouins, or wandering Arabs, (formed from the Arabic — bedw — sig- 
nifying a country without habitation), are amongst the largest of the 
tribes, and governed by their own Emir and Sheikhs. They have a con- 
tempt for the Turks, whom they consider as usurpers in their country. f 
Their religion is a reformation of the Mahomedan, and though they prac- 
tise the same forms in their prayers, and observe the same fasts, yet there 

* Gen. xxi. 18. 

t The day of the election of their chief, they swear by the most solemn oath that they will resist the 
Turks, that they will not live in any town or castle, that they will dwell always in the wild country 
under their tents, and in the Deserts, as their great father Kedar, 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 7 

is a great difference in their religious sentiments, being for the most part 
followers of Ali.* 

This short account of the general character of the Arabs it is hoped 
may not prove uninteresting. The habits and manners of these wander- 
ing people are to be seen only in the Desert, where they seem to throw off 
restraint which even a short residence in a town enforces on them. 

The following morning we left at half-past six, and soon arrived near some 
mountains called the Huhebi ; our route lay a little to the right of these 
mountains. We met this morning several caravans going to Cairo, which 
had left Suez the day previous. The Salam Alaikoum — " Peace to you," 
which was answered by Alaikoum Salam — the Arab assurance of friendship, 
was all that passed between the caravans, excepting the guides, who dis- 
mounted, held out their right hands, and embraced, delaying a short time 
to exchange news. For eight hours no object of particular interest pre- 
sented itself ; the route continued the same, having a descent for the last 
three hours ; the last half hour of which I perceived the camel on which I 

* AH, the fourth Caliph after Mahomet, began his reign in the 35th year of the Hegira, A. D. 655 ; 
he was elected with one voice at Medina ; but, aware of the powerful opponents he had to encounter, 
among whom none was more distinguished than Aiesha, the widow of the Prophet, it was with some 
reluctance that he accepted the honour : having reigned five years, he was assassinated. The great 
veneration for the memory of this Caliph has caused him to have many followers. Among the many 
honourable titles with which he is distinguished are those of Vassi and Morthadi, " executor of the 
will of Mahomet ;" the second may be interpreted, " agreeable to God." The Ichiltes call him 
Faiz-al-Anovar — that is to say, distributor of light and grace — while the Persians name him Schah- 
Marduman, " the king of men." It is related that he had a presentiment of his death, having been 
heard to say on the same day — " Ah well, my heart, take patience, since there is no remedy against 
the death that Heaven destinies ;" and on the same day, coming out of his palace, observing a slave 
beating the animals in the court for crying, he remarked, " Let them cry, their cries are the lamen- 
tations and funeral songs of my death." We find in an Arab work entitled " The Spring of the Just," 
this maxim of Ali — " He who would wish to be rich without goods, powerful without subjects, and a 
subject without a master, has only to quit his sins and turn to God, he will find these three things in 
God." His followers, to distinguish themselves from other Mussulmans, wear a turban of a particular 
form and colour, and cut off the lock of hair worn by some Mahometans on the top of the head. — 
Histoire des Arabes, par M. TAbbe de Marigny. 



8 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 

rode quicken his pace, beginning to cry and turn his head in all directions.* 
I knew that we were not far from a well ; the instinct of the animal had 
made him also acquainted with it. I soon perceived on the left a square 
building called Kalat-Adjeroud — " the Castle of Adjeroud " — here we found 
brackish water in a large tank, which the camels drank with avidity. We 
had been travelling in the heat of the day, and all were now glad of repose, 
though, being near Suez, we remained at this station but two hours, anxious 
to arrive at another well (which is situate close upon the town) before dark. 
It wanted two hours to sunset when we were again in order, and in a few 
moments I had a view of the Red Sea. It was three hours before we 
arrived at the other well ; the route was level, with a gentle descent ; we 
here encamped for the night, and I was just able to distinguish Suez. 
The water of this well was little better than that of the former, having an 
unpleasant, brackish taste. 

We left the well the following morning at sunrise, and I could plainly 

* The camel is for the Arab the most precious treasure ; they may well call it the sacred animal, 
(Camelos animalia sancta ii appellant, ex insigni commodo quod ex ipsis indigence acciiunt. — Prosper 
Alpini, Hist. iEgypti), and attach to it the greatest respect ; without it he could not travel, engage in 
commerce, or live. " Imagine, (says Buffon) a country without verdure and without water ; a burning 
sun, a heaven always dry, sandy plains, mountains yet more arid, over which the eye wanders without 
the power of arresting itself on any living object ; the earth dead, and, as it were, flayed by 
the winds, presenting nothing but bones, and scattered fragments of rocks, erect, or thrown down; a 
desert entirely waste ; where the traveller has never breathed under the shade, where nothing bears 
him company, where nothing reminds him of living nature ; an absolute solitude, a thousand times 
more dreadful than that of the forests, (for trees are still beings to the man who finds himself alone), 
more isolated, more bereaved, more lost ; in these lonely and boundless regions he regards the space 
extending around him on every side as his tomb ; the light of day, more sad than the shade of night, 
breaks upon him but to expose to his eyes his nakedness and his weakness, and to present to him the 
horror of his situation by withdrawing from his vision the boundary of the void, and by enlarging 
around him the immensity of the space which separates him from the inhabited earth ; an immensity 
which he would in vain endeavour to traverse ; for hunger, thirst, and burning heat, hasten to a close 
the moments that remain to him between despair and death. Yet, by the assistance of the Camel, the 
Arab has been enabled to pass over and appropriate to himself these gaps of Nature, which serve 
him as an asylum, ensure his repose, and maintain his independence." 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



9 



perceive Suez. We were not more than three miles distant, about an 
hour's journey for the camels ; the country all around was perfectly flat 
and barren ; and, though previously informed of its sterility, I still ex- 
pected to see some sign of vegetation, or some mark of cultivation; but 
I looked in vain; not even a single date tree appeared — the sand of the 
Desert encompassed it, from which, in colour, it could scarcely be distin- 
guished. Its situation, between two seas, is its only resource ; a few 
merchants reside here who carry on a trade between the ports of Arabia 
and Cairo ; but the sand is fast encroaching on the harbour ; not admitting 
vessels of any considerable tonnage, its commerce is much reduced, as no 
merchant would inhabit it from choice. The town is surrounded by a low 
wall, over which you perceive some flat-roofed houses, forming the bazaars. 
The traveller Browne, who visited it in 1793, says, " the city is very modern, 
probably built within the last three hundred years ; it being unknown to 
travellers of a more ancient date." 

The ancient city was named by the Arabs Kolzum : it was not a place 
of much importance, but gave the name Bahr-al-Kolzum to the sea on 
which it stands. Here commenced the canal made by the Caliph Omar, 
which extended to Cairo. The modern town occupies but a small portion 
of what appears to have been the extent of the ancient cities ; nothing 
breaks or enlivens the dull uniformity of its appearance, excepting the 
minaret of a single mosque, and a few small apertures in the walls for the 
admittance of light. The wall surrounding the town has gates, and is 
flanked with a variety of round and square towers ; these are not kept in 
any state of repair, and would be found, iif case of need, perfectly useless.* 

* In the time of Niebuhr, Suez was not enclosed ; there is now a wall on the west and south west, 
which is rapidly falling to decay. The town is in a ruinous state, and neither merchants nor artisans 
live in it. Its population consists only of about a dozen agents, who receive goods from the ports of 
the Red Sea, and forward them to their correspondents at Cairo, together with some shopkeepers, who 
deal chiefly in provisions. The Pasha keeps a garrison here of about fifty horsemen, with an officer 

C 



10 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



I observed a few small Turkish vessels in the harbour, and others being 
constructed. In preference to entering within the walls, we pitched the 
tents near the sea, with the intention of remaining a few hours to visit the 
bazaar, and the principal magazines. 

who commands the town, the neighbouring Arabs, and the shipping in the harbour. As Suez is one 
of the few harbours in the Red Sea where ships can be repaired, some vessels are constantly seen at 
the wharf ; the repairs are carried on by Greek shipwrights and smiths in the service of the Pasha, 
who are let out to the shipowners by the commanding officer. Suez has of late become a harbour of 
secondary importance ; the supplies of provisions, &c, for the Hedjaz being collected principally at 
Cosseir, and shipped from thence to Yembo and Djidda ; but the trade in coffee and India goods still 
passes this way to Cairo. I saw numerous bales of spices and coffee lying near the shore, and a large 
heap of iron, together with packages of small wares, antimony, and Egyptian goods for exportation 
to Djidda and ultimately to Yemen and India. — See Burckhardt's Travels, p.p. 465, 566. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



11 



CHAPTER II. 

Description of Sdez — The Red Sea— Commerce— History of Suez — Departure — The 
Camel — Arrival at a Well — Passage of the Red Sea — Ayoun Mousa — Chain of 
the Ruhut Mountains — Wady Waden — Well of Howala — Wady Gheradel — 
Nature of the Pasture — Wady Taibe — Approach toward the Sea — Nature of the 
Rocks — Arrival at a Well — The Wady Nasb — Repose under the Rock — Niebuhr, 
Seetzeen, Burckhardt — Sheikh's Departure for Water— Wady Mokatteb — Hiero- 
glyphics — Excavation in the Rock — Arrival at the Ghebel Mokatteb — Unintel- 
ligible Characters — Route to Sarbout el Cadem — Arrival at the Wady Feran — 
Fertility of the Valley — Hospitality of the Arabs — View of Mount Serbal — 
Grandeur and Colour of the Rocks — Stone of Moses — The Gazelle — First View 
of the Convent of Mount Sinai — Manner of Reception. 

The scene of wretchedness and poverty that presented itself at the first 
view of the town, was more than realized when I entered within the gates. 
A miserable set of half starved, diseased children thronged about me, 
asking for " backshish."* Their appearance rendered their importunities 
quite useless ; I only wondered how it was possible they could exist ; but by 
constantly wandering about the bazaars they pick up a scanty subsistence 
from rejected offals, of which they vehemently dispute the possession. 

It was only by means of the activity of my servant with the "coorbaj" 
that I could make any progress in the bazaar. The principal commerce 
here is coffee, f and the shops displayed little else; there seemed to be 

* The Arabic for present. 

t The first traveller who brought any account of the coffee plant was Prosper Alpin, a doctor of 
medicine and botanist of Padua, who, in his journey to Egypt with the Consul of the Republic 
of Venice, in 1580, remained three or four years studying the plants of that country, and ultimately 

c 2 



12 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



not the slightest appearance of activity in the bazaar ; the master of each 
shop being quietly engaged in smoking his pipe. A few small vessels were 
on the stocks by the sea-side : their mode of ship-building is curious ; 
not having the art of bending the timbers, they have to depend entirely on 
the growth of the tree. There were also some individuals occupied in 
rope making : fishermen, generally seen at every port, are scarcely to be 
met with here, there being little else in the gulf but oysters and a few 
other shell fish. The inhabitants depend entirely on the caravans from 
Cairo, or from ports on the Red Sea ; they have not even, within the town, 
a supply of water, but are obliged to send for their principal supply to 
the Beer Naba, at a distance of about five hours to the n. e. The well called 
Beer es Suez, which we had passed, and that on the opposite coast called 
Ayoun Mousa, also afford supplies ; this serves to give occupation to 

presented the result of his labours to the world in a publication at Venice, in the year 1592. M. 
Paschius, in a Latin work upon the new discoveries made in ancient literature, (Leipsic, 1700) men- 
tions that coffee is meant by the "parched corn" among the presents that Abigail gave to David. — 
1 Samuel, xxv, 18v. 

Coffee was first drunk at Aden, a town of Arabia Felix, by the Mufti Gemaleddin, in the fifteenth 
century, from whence it passed to Mecca, where it was much drunk by the Dervishes. In the year 
1511, A. D. and 917 of the Hejira, Khair Beg, Governor of Mecca, one day on his retui-n from the 
mosque, was surprised to see the Dervishes, instead of being assembled at their prayers, drinking : he 
immediately thought they were indulging in wine, and, on finding it was coffee, prohibited the use of it : 
which caused a great disturbance at Mecca ; on which the Sultan of Egypt ordered it again to be drunk. 
In 1524, the Cadi ordered all the coffee houses to be closed, on account of continual disturbances, 
and the use of this beverage was about this time discussed by the doctors at Cairo. About the year 
1554, Cafes were first opened at Constantinople ; but Monsieur Thevenot relates that in 1657 it again 
became a subject of discussion, and was again condemned. Monsieur la Roque, in his " Voyage de 
l'Arabie Heureuse," mentions that in the year 1644 his father was the first to introduce it at Mar- 
seilles ; in 1671, coffee-houses were first opened at Marseilles; and in the following year a small shop 
was opened at Paris by an Armenian named Pascal. Whether it was beneficial to the health soon 
became a subject of dispute at Paris ; it, however, obtained the approbation of the principal doctors ; 
who condemned those who, introducing too much sugar, thought only of gratifying their palate. 
In 1714, a young coffee tree was brought to the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. Monsieur la Roque 
made his first Oriental voyage by order of the French in the years 1708, 1709, 1710, and his second 
to the port of Mocha and kingdom of Yemen in the three following years. Hasselquist, who travelled 
in the year 1749, mentions that caravans bring every year 36,000 bales of coffee from Mecca into 
Egypt, each bale averaging sixty dollars. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



13 



the poorer class ; who accompany the camels at stated hours of departure, 
and sell it at so much per skin. 

There is an agent here appointed by the English Consul at Alexandria; 
a Copt, whom we visited ; he seemed anxious that the steam-boat commu- 
nication from India should be more frequent ; he said they had a large 
supply of coals when necessary. 

The present town is entered by a gate on the eastern side, which conducts 
to another wall, having passed which, the traveller finds himself sur- 
rounded by a miserable set of houses, built of bricks dried in the sun ; the 
walls, and some of the court-yards, being constructed of large shells joined 
together by mud. There are four mosques, (one of which has a minaret), 
the palace of the Governor, and two large khans. From its central situa- 
tion, the inhabitants of many provinces meet here to transact business — 
the Syrian with the Ethiopian ; the Tribes of the Desert with the provinces 
of Lower Egypt. This also serves to give some occupation to a miserable 
set of wretches, who call themselves guides or ciceroni. 

The Gulf of Suez communicates with the Red Sea, which divides the 
shores of Africa and Arabia. There has been much dispute respecting the 
origin of the name of this sea. There can be no doubt that the Mare 
Erythraeum of the ancients was the Indian Ocean which joined the Persian 
Gulf. This word might probably be derived from Erythas, a son of Perseus 
and Andromeda, who was drowned in that sea ; but the more generally 
received opinion is that related by Browne, in his "Travels in Africa, 
1793." 

"At Suez I observed, in the shallow parts of the adjacent sea, a species 
of weed, which, in the sunshine, appeared to be red coral, being of a hue 
between scarlet and crimson, and of a spongy feel and quality. I know 
not if any use be made of it, nor am I acquainted with its Arabic name, 
but it strikes me that if found in great quantities at any former period, it 
may have given the recent name to this sea; for this was the Arabian Gulf 



14 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



of the Ancients. This weed may perhaps be the suph of the Hebrews, 
whence Yam suph, their name for this sea." 

In the time of the Ptolemies, the ancient town, near the site of the present, 
was named Arsinoe, and afterwards Cleopatride ; its site may yet be 
recognized in a mount called Kolzum, of which the present town occupies 
the extremity. There may still be traced some remains of a conduit from 
the Beer Naba, but of the extent or importance of the ancient town we have 
little account, no monument or temple remains ; the sand of the Desert has 
nearly obliterated every vestige of its site. 

As there was little inducement to remain within the walls, I returned 
to the tent, it being our intention to proceed on the journey the same day ; 
but one of the camels (belonging to my friend Mr. Bonomi) being found 
unable to bear the journey, we were obliged to part with it. This delayed 
our departure until nine a. m. the following morning ; but, in the mean 
time, afforded me an opportunity of obtaining a sketch of the town, and 
giving some idea of its desolate appearance. It may be regarded as a place 
of some interest, but certainly not possessing much picturesque beauty. 

Our little caravan proceeded this morning along the sea coast, nearly in 
a northerly direction ; there was nothing of interest on either side. We 
were now passing round the end of the Gulf. About 2 p. m., we arrived at 
the principal well (the Beer Naba) that supplies Suez with water ; at this 
well we remained about two hours to repose ; we then entered amongst a 
variety of sandy hillocks, which bore a very singular appearance. It is 
across this narrow part of the extremity of the Gulf, that many travellers 
imagine the Israelites passed, on their departure from Egypt ; but the pro- 
bability seems to be in favour of those who assert that the passage was 
made farther south. The expression contained in Exodus xiii. 18 v., " But 
God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red 
Sea," certainly implies that they journeyed in a southerly direction from 
the city of Pharaoh ; as in the verse preceding it is expressly stated " that 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



15 



God led them not through the land of the Philistines, although that was 
near." 

We had now turned the end of the Gulf, and were arriving at a more 
interesting - part of the coast. A quantity of green shrubs springing from 
the numerous hillocks, as also a few date trees, (none of which had arrived 
at any maturity) were sufficient evidence that we were near the springs 
called Ayoun Mousa, or the " Fountains of Moses." From here may be 
distinctly seen the mountains on the opposite coast, where the children of 
Israel encamped by the sea* (Exodus xiv. 2), the name Peha-hiroth sig- 
nifying the mouth or opening of Hiroth. This aperture may still be 
seen ; and, as it would lead in almost a direct line to these fountains, 
it is very probable that at this place the Israelites obtained a supply of 
water previous to their further wanderings, as we are informed on their 
journeying into the wilderness of Shur (Exodus xv. 22), " they went three 
days in the wilderness, and found no water." 

I could not but regard the scene around me with the greatest interest, for 
it was here that one of the greatest miracles had been displayed by the 
Almighty power, in the preservation of a people who, in succeeding ages, 
were to bear so important a part in the history of the world ; and who, 
at the present day, still wandering, but enjoying influence, amongst the 
different nations of the globe, after suffering the greatest oppression and 
cruelties, form a convincing proof that the power of man, though permitted 
to afflict, has never been able to destroy. " For I will restore health unto 
thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord : because they call 

* From these fountains may be plainly seen a wonderful aperture in the mountains on the other side of 
the Red Sea, through and from which the children of Israel entered into the Red Sea, when Pharaoh and 
his host were drowned ; which aperture is situated west-south-west from these fountains of Moses ; and 
the breadth of the sea hereabouts, where the children of Israel passed it, is about four or five hours 
journey. Hut from Suez, by land, to these fountains would be seven or eight hours journey. (Journal 
from Cairo to Mount Sinai in the year 1722 by the Prefect of the Franciscans in Egypt.) 



16 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



thee an outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after," (Jere- 
miah, xxx. 17.) 

At this spot, the voices and hearts of the multitude joined those of their 
leader in praise for their deliverance : how beautiful are the expressions 
recorded in the song of Moses ; Exodus xv. 

It was near sun-set when we arrived at the springs, which rise out of the 
ground at various places, but are soon absorbed by the sand. I found them 
of a very brackish quality, in consequence, perhaps, of their being so near 
the sea, but cool and refreshing, affording a desirable place for our first 
night's repose from Suez. The Arabs performed their ablutions and prayers, 
whilst I occupied myself, previous to repose, in making notes and memo- 
randa of this very interesting spot. 

The next morning, at four o'clock, we left these fountains, continuing our 
route by the side of the Red Sea, over a perfectly level plain of sand and 
small stones ; to our left were the chain of the Ruhut Mountains. This 
plain, which forms part of the great Desert, is designated by the name of 
the Wady Onardar, or Wilderness of Shur. The travelling was tedious 
and uninteresting, and I was glad of a repose at mid-day for four hours. 
We then continued over the same level plain for about three hours, when 
we pitched the tent for the night, and regarded, with extreme interest, the 
mountains to the south, and the prospect of some variety in the following 
day's journey. 

We were in readiness in the morning by five, and soon began to ascend 
several hills of sand ; this variety afforded me great pleasure, as well as the 
prospect of soon arriving at the fountain called by the Arabs " Howara." 
It was half past ten a. m. when we reached this spring ; but the water 
was really not drinkable ; even the camels seemed hardly inclined to touch 
it. This, from its bitter quality, is generally thought to be the Well of 
Marah, where the Israelites murmured against Moses, and where he per- 
formed the miracle recorded Exodus xv. 25. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



17 



We remained at this place about three hours, and soon afterwards en- 
tered a delightful valley called the Wady Ghirandel, which corresponds 
exactly to the valley of Elim, Exodus xv. 27. There were a variety of trees 
and shrubs, that, particularly, called by the Arabs " chaseam" a kind of 
thorny tree, of which the camels are very fond. I also noticed a few date 
trees. We were enclosed by low, rugged mountains ; but, after travelling 
for three hours, our Sheik Mousa was unable to resist the temptation of 
remaining in a spot which afforded such excellent pasturage for the camels. 
He also made the excuse of fetching some good water from a place about 
an hour's journey in the mountains. Nothing loath to agree to his proposal, 
we pitched the tents, and enjoyed a repose which the heat of the day ren- 
dered doubly acceptable. 

On leaving the Wady the following morning, I found myself much re- 
freshed. We were in readiness about five o'clock, our route lying over a 
variety of hills. After seven hours' journey, we arrived at the Wady Tebai, 
where the scenery was of a much more wild character than in the former 
valley ; the huge masses of rock on either hand, piled in ponderous confusion, 
gave no imperfect representation of the field of some lately fought battle 
of the Giants, in that day of " measureless uproar and wild pursuit," when 
the great earth 

resounded ; the wide heaven 

Groaned shattering ; from its hase Olympus vast 
Reeled to the violence of Gods. 

Under one of these Titanic masses, which must have been detached by 
some great convulsion of nature, our caravan reposed for about four hours ; 
but the shadow afforded by this rock was almost insupportable from the 
reflected heat of the meridian sun, which was pouring its blaze all around. 
When the declining orb permitted a refreshing sleep, we continued our 
journey down the W ady Tebai toward the sea. On the right of our track 
the rocks were composed of limestone and flint: while, on the left, 1 obsen d 

i) 



18 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 

a quantity of sulphur and iron. At about two hours before sunset we had 
a fine view of the Red Sea, the shores of which we speedily reached, and 
proceeded along them until sunset, when we pitched the tent for the night, 
within view of the mountains of Tor. The following morning, it was 
nearly six o'clock ere we were in motion ; the loss of an hour in the morning 
made me fear that we should have a longer journey in the heat of the day. 
I wished to prevail on the Sheikh to quicken his pace, but found it useless : 
he assured me that by mid-day we should arrive at a most desirable shelter, 
and that we should enjoy the sea-breeze during the whole of the morning. 

I took the opportunity, on our arrival at a well, to bathe in the sea ; which 
in some measure compensated for the disappointment of finding the water 
un drinkable ; the camels, however, were less fastidious, and took in a good 
supply. 

The Sheikh, in the mean time, left us, to procure, in the mountains, a 
quantity of good water, appointing to rejoin us at noon. We remained 
nearly two hours at this well, which made me still apprehensive that 
we should be compelled to travel in the heat of the day ; but the Arabs, 
who were better acquainted than myself with the distance and the 
stations before us, assured me that, " Inshallah," we should arrive at the 
time of mid-day prayer at the place appointed by the Sheikh. Crossing a 
plain of considerable extent, we entered the Wady Nasb, which bore some 
resemblance to the former valley. Like that, it was under the shadow of a 
huge rock : this place was fixed on for our rest, and here, too, we were to be 
rejoined by the Sheikh. It is undeniably a station of much interest ; 
Niebuhr, Seetzen, and Burckhardt had reposed here, the three most illus- 
trious of those travellers who have given any information of the country 
and habits of a people so ancient and so singular — who have thrown such 
a blaze of light upon the sacred writings by their geographical descriptions ; 
and, by their observation of the manners and customs of the inhabitants, 
have borne such irresistible testimony to the fulfilment of prophecy, by the 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



19 



desolation of the countries which they traversed. By their means the 
Desert has found a voice, and the lonely rocks of the Wilderness a cry, attest- 
ing-, with more certainty of conviction than the profoundest learning, or the 
■ most burning eloquence of the speculative divine, that wonder of wonders, 
the dealing of God towards this once favoured land. Of these three learned 
and philosophic pioneers of truth, the two latter, alas ! were not so fortunate 
as to return in person, but their writings have happily been preserved. 

Our Sheikh having arrived with a small supply of excellent water, we 
remained under the rock of the Wady Nasb for about four hours. We soon 
entered, on recommencing our march, the passes of a mountain, where the 
beautiful red colour of the granite, intermixed with a thousand tints of 
purple, excited both curiosity and delight. By a narrow and rugged defile 
we began to ascend the mountains; the camels, alarmed and awkward on 
ground to the irregularity of which their form renders them unadapted, 
were led by the Arabs; and took every step with the greatest caution and 
timidity. 

In the descent, our labour was much relieved in various places by a road 
which had some appearance of construction. It was sunset when we 
entered the Wady Mokatteb — the Written Valley — and the camels ap- 
peared fatigued. We soon discovered an agreeable spot for the night's 
repose. 

Leaving this place at five o'clock on the following morning; after a journey 
of an hour and a half we reached a rock, upon an isolated portion of which 
were carved some hieroglyphical inscriptions. At a short distance on the 
left side of the valley, we perceived an excavation in the rock, at about 
half the* height of its summit. This grotto is of great magnitude ; its 
entrance is. obstructed by portions of the rock, and much choked up with 
sand. Not being prepared to explore its whole extent, I contented myself 
with viewing, at the entrance, a large cavern, supported by rude masses of 
granite. It may probably have served for a burying-place, though the 

d 2 

/ 



4 



20 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 

tradition of the superstitious Arabs regards it as the dwelling of a certain 
saint called Abuzelline, on whom angels attended, and who had the addi- 
tional distinction of being regaled with coffee brought from Mecca by 
pigeons. We remained here nearly four hours, whilst one of the Arabs 
went to seek some water. 

On leaving this place, we came to the Dgebal Mokatteb, or Written Moun- 
tain ; it is a rock on the side of the valley, inscribed with characters, 
whose import, however, is perfectly unintelligible. This writing has 
hitherto defied the interpretation of the learned. Much curiosity was 
excited about a century ago, by the reports of travellers in these moun- 
tains. The Prefect of Egypt, who made a journey from Cairo to Mount 
Sinai in 1722, mentions them particularly. His journal was translated 
shortly afterwards by the Rev. Robert Clayton. It was a common 
opinion among antiquaries that the characters of this inscription were 
those of the ancient Hebrew writing, which the Israelites, in their wander- 
ings, had engraved on these rocks. My companion, Mr. Bonomi, here left 
the caravan, intending to proceed by way of Sarbout el Cadem, to the con- 
vent of Mount Sinai, where were preserved several hieroglyphical inscrip- 
tions. We continued our march until sunset, when we rested near the base 
of Mount Serbal. The whole of the day's journey had been highly 
interesting ; though closely surrounded by huge crags, the constant variety 
of form, and strange beauty of colour which they exhibited, agreeably 
surprised me, as I had expected to find the sand of the Desert, with its 
desolate uniformity, overwhelming both the tint and outline which the 
scenery might have possessed. 

The following morning, starting at six o'clock, in two hours and a half we 
reached the entrance of a most beautiful valley, (the Wady Feiran) and I 
obtained my first sight of an Arab encampment ; we met with a very kind 
reception from its inhabitants — members of a nation whose hospitality is so 
proverbial. Our camel-drivers had here many friends. We reposed under 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 21 

the shadow of trees with which the valley abounded; a kid was killed and 
roasted, and every attention paid to our comfort. The date trees, the tents 
of the Arabs, contrasting strongly with the various vegetation, a rivulet of 
pure water, which descended from the mountain, the cheerful twittering of 
the birds, all served to heighten our enjoyment of the scene. It was a 
realization of the Happy Valley ; and my Fancy could not but picture, 
perhaps erroneously, the inhabitants of this lovely spot as innocent and as 
happy as the scenes in which they dwelt. 

On either side were mountains of the most beautiful and picturesque 
form — and I would willingly have ascended them to make a better survey 
of this exquisite valley ; but had only time to make a sketch from the 
station where we rested, while the Arabs were employed in the lading of 
their camels. 

This spot is known among the people by the name of " Hamam el Pha- 
raone," or the Baths of Pharoh. During the time of Moses the whole of 
the surrounding country was called "The Wilderness of Paran." It is 
recorded, Gen. xxi, 21, that this wilderness was the dwelling-place of Ish- 
mael, from whom all the Arabs boast their descent. It was here also that 
the children of Israel rested, Num. x, 12; we are also told that after 
Samuel's death " David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran." 
We remained here six hours, and then continued our course along the 
valley, which was of some extent, and presented a high degree of fertility. 

I was shown by one of the Arabs, on a mountain to the left, some re- 
mains of an ancient wall. These were probably the ruins of the Greek 
convents under the jurisdiction of Mount Sinai, having for their bishop 
the celebrated Theodosius, who wrote against the Monothelites. Near this 
place, on the same side of the mountain, were certain other remains. We 
soon afterwards quitted the valley, and continued our course until sunset. 
The summit of Mount Serbal presented an appearance of the utmost gran* 
dcur, with its blue peaks towering above its neighbour giants. 1 low 



22 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



forcibly did the solemn majesty of this mountain embody or typify the 
sublimity of God. " The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir 
unto them, and appeared clearly from Mount Paran, and he came with 
ten thousands of saints, and at his right hand a fiery law for them." Deut. 
xxiii. 2. 

" God cometh from Teman, and the holv one from Mount Paran, Selah ! 
His glory covereth the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise ; and his 
brightness was as the light : he had horns coming out of his hands ; and 
there was the hiding of his power. Before him went the pestilence, and 
burning coals went forth before his feet. He stood and measured the 
earth ; he beheld and dissolved the nations, and the everlasting mountains 
were broken ; and the ancient hills did bow : his ways are everlasting." 
Hab. xi, 43. We pitched our tents at the base of this mountain, with the 
intention of starting early the following morning, in order to reach the 
convent. 

At half-past four, a. m., we were all in readiness ; and leaving Mount 
Serbal we gradually approached Mount Horeb ; and after reposing for 
three hours in a pleasant and woody valley, which afforded the camels 
an opportunity of refreshing themselves for the remainder of their journey, 
we set forth again. Our course lay between high rocks : the path was 
rugged and intricate ; and at length we entered an opening ; which passed, 
we soon arrived at a portion of the rock before which the Arabs prostrated 
themselves, kissing it with great reverence. This stone I was informed is 
the place where Mahomet rested himself. There is a slight hollow in the 
stone, which you are assured is the impression produced by the Prophet. 
The veneration paid to this particular spot has 'doubtless continued from 
the time of Mahomet. 

Mount Sinai is regarded with equal respect by Turk and Christian. 
The view from this spot was extremely grand ; Mount Sinai, Mount Horeb, 
and Mount Serbal were all visible. Some gazelles and wild goats were 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



23 



startled by our approach — they stopped a few seconds, as if astonished at 
our appearance in their seldom-invaded solitudes. The Arabs wished to 
fire at them ; but long before they were prepared the animals bounded off, 
and so swift were their movements, that I could catch but a momentary 
glimpse of them. In spite, however, of their speed, it is customary for the 
Arab boys to chase them, and by means of perseverance they generally 
succeed in tiring them out ; for, though the gazelle has the advantage of 
speed, it is not possessed of strength in proportion. At a short distance 
from the sacred rock is a small hut, the burial-place of a Sheikh named 
Saaleh. This is also a highly-venerated spot ; we, however, passed it 
without any ceremony. 

It was now near sunset ; and, making a sudden turn between the moun- 
tains, I obtained the first view of the convent of Mount Sinai, with its 
garden, situated in a valley surrounded on three sides by mountains. 

After the fatiguing day which we had passed, the prospect of a continued 
rest in so inviting a situation cheered the spirits of our whole party, who, 
after firing pistols as a signal of our approach, began relating the miracles 
of the Prophet, and extolling the sanctity of the Gebel Mousa.* 

* Gcbcl Mousa — the rock struck by Moses, called by the Arabs Massab and Mcribab. 

Massa/t and McribaA in Hebrew signify '* quarrel," "temptation." The Bedouins attribute to 
the holes from which the water flowed a healing virtue, and are in the habit of placing -within them 
herbs, which, after having for a certain time imbibed the medicinal property of the stone, they give 
to their sick camels. 

The rock struck by Moses, as also that on which the Commandments were written, is of the same 
granite as that which composes Mounts Horeb and Sinai. This granite has been of great service to 
the Egyptians, in the construction of their temples, obelisks, &c. — Hasselquist. 



24 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



CHAPTER III. 

Reception by the Superior — Supper — Garden of the Convent — Fruit — Church — 
Tomb of St. Catharine — Exhibition of the Saint's Body — Miracle — Manuscripts 
in the Library — Edict of Mahomet — Kindness of the Monks — Anecdote of the 
Prophet — Ascent of the Mountain — Height — Steps for the Pilgrims — Chapel of 
the Virgin — Gate and Confessional for the Pilgrims — Stone and Chapel of Elias 
— Plain and Cypress — Miraculous Print of the Foot of Mahomet's Camel — Mark 
of the Hands and Back of Moses in the Rock — Reach the Summit — Beginning of 
the Descent — Rest on the Plain of St. Elias — Convent of Eibereen, or St. Onu- 
phrius — The Stone Struck by Moses — Mark of the Head of the Golden Calf — 
Return to the Convent — Spot where God Appeared to Moses — Chapel of the 
Empress Helena — Manuscript of Theodosius — Plunder of the Convent by the 
Arabs — Persecution of the Monks — Bargain with Arabs — Danger of Route by 
Akaba — Breakfast with the Monks — Diet of the Convent — Grace — Preparation 
for Departure. 

MOUNT SINAI AND THE CONVENT OF ST. CATHARINE. 

On alighting from our camels, we were drawn up by means of a wind- 
lass to a window about thirty feet from the ground. This plan is adopted 
by the monks to insure safety from the attacks of the Arabs ; the entrance 
door being only opened for the reception of a new patriarch whose re- 
sidence is at Constantinople. 

We were received by the Fathers right hospitably ; but they seemed much 
disappointed at our not being the bearers of letters from Cairo. We were 
shown into a very comfortable apartment, the floor of which was covered 
with a divan of fine carpets : on one side of the door hung a portion of 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



25 



silk, upon which was placed a wretched print of St. George and the 
Dragon ; before it was suspended a small lamp. The walls were plainly 
whitewashed, and on a shelf we perceived a few books ; two or three in 
Greek, and some which had been left here by various travellers ; here was 
also a book containing the names of visiters ; but none of any very late 
date. 

The Superior of the Convent, a fine majestic-looking man, having con- 
versed with us a short time, ordered a supper, which had been prepared for 
us, to be served ; consisting of rice, soup, and fish, it being contrary to the 
rule of this Convent for any of its members to eat meat. We soon after- 
wards retired to rest. 

On awaking in the morning, I revelled in the delicious freshness of the 
air ; the thermometer being at 66°, Fahrenheit. The enjoyment of a walk 
in the garden* was very great — the number and variety of the plants — the 
care and skill exhibited in their arrangement — the ground everywhere 
intersected by cooling rills — all were evidence of the labour and per- 
severance which had been employed in " turning the desert into a fruitful 
field." 

There was an abundance of grapes, pomegranates, and olives — I also 
remarked the mulberry, the peach, and the apricot. From the produce of 
their garden, the monks are enabled to make a small quantity of wine ; and 
a kind of brandy from the date fruit, for their own use. The garden is 
detached from the convent, communication being made by a subterraneous 

* Pococke speaks of a bush, planted in the garden by the monks, which they affirm to be the real 
one in which God appeared. There is no sign of this at present. The chapel, built by Queen Helena, 
behind the principal church, is named the Chapel of the Burning Bush, and visiters are informed that 
the altar occupies the spot where God appeared to Moses. " Then the angel of the Lord appeared 
unto him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush ; and he looked, and behold, the bush burned 
with fire, and the bush was not consumed." — Exodus iii 2. 

There is a number of rich silver lamps and candlesticks, presented at various times to the chapel. 
Three silver lamps arc constantly burning beneath the altar. The walls are covered with a variety of 
old Greek paintings, and against them is suspended n multitude of silver crowns and trinkets. 

E 



26 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



passage, well secured by an iron door, as a protection from the Arabs. The 
whole of the convent is tolerably strong, and might resist a hostile assault 
for a short time. There have of late been no serious attempts made 
against it. The monks are in the habit of giving bread to any of the Arabs 
who apply for it peaceably. 

In the afternoon, accompanied by the Superior, I went over the convent ; 
the outer walls and church of which were built a. d. 527, by the Emperor 
Justinian. In about one hundred and forty years afterwards it came into 
possession of the Greeks. 

The church is richly decorated, adorned by columns of the Corinthian 
order, and a pavement composed, like the walls, of black and white marble. 
It contains the tomb of St. Catherine ; a small chapel here is shown as the 
spot where God appeared to Moses ; which to this day no one is permitted 
to enter without taking off his shoes. Near the church is situated a 
mosque. 

The legend of the " Invention " of the saint's body runs thus : The body 
of St. Catherine, after her martyrdom at Alexandria, was brought by 
angels to the top of this mountain. Having remained there three hundred 
years, a pious monk, supernaturally informed by a dream, went next 
morning to the place, with all the religious, who brought it in procession to 
the monastery, 

•with honour and grete procession 
They carien hire unto the next Abbaie. 

Chaucer. 

She was said to be the daughter of Costa, a King of Cyprus, who, in the 
time of Maxentius, converted many unto Christ. 

On the summit of the exterior wall, a gallery runs round the church. 
The monks, who are at present about twenty -five in number, have each 
his separate occupation, and appear extremely industrious. 

On the 12th, I began a view of the chapel of St. Michael, but being 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



27 



indisposed, from the change in my manner of living-, was obliged to take a 
walk in the garden during the afternoon. In the evening, I was rejoined 
by Mr. Bonomi. The morning of the 14th was employed in making a view 
of the church containing the altar and tomb of St. Catherine, which is 
ornamented with rich mosaic work ; the circular part is enriched with slabs 
of marble ; over which is an ancient painting. In the tomb reposed the body 
of the saint ; which the Abbe Geramb was permitted to see : his account 
is as follows : 

" On opening the case, the Superior took reverently in his hands the 
head ; it was enveloped in cloth of gold, and surmounted by a crown, 
also of gold, and attached with much art. This head was quite black, and 
had, of course, a shrivelled, mummy-like appearance. The priest after- 
wards drew forth a hand, which has preserved a singular whiteness ; I 
remarked upon the fingers, the nails of which are still distinguishable, 
many rings of great value, one among the others of diamonds of great 
beauty. We were told also of a ring of much greater price, which the saint, 
they said, had received from our Lord himself, and which she had on her 
finger when the body was discovered on the mountain that bears her name ; 
this, however, they refused to exhibit, as it is preserved with the greatest 
care, and may not be touched by any but the Patriarch. 

"The Empress Catharine desired for a long time to possess this 
miraculous ring. So much importance did she attach to its acquisition, that 
at length she sent an Abbot charged with presents, to demand it in her 
name. Great was the consternation of the friars ; for they dared not refuse 
anything to so powerful a sovereign, one, also, who had been so zealous a 
protectress of their monastery. 

" After many hesitations, they authorized the envoy to take the ring. 
They proceeded with their most solemn pomp to open the shrine in which 
it was deposited. Clothed in magnificent robes, and accompanied by all 
the ensigns of his dignity, the Abbot approached to perform the object of 

e2 



^8 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SIN T AI AND JERUSALEM. 



his mission — at the instant that his sacrilegious hand was preparing to 
violate the repose of the saint, her anger burst forth from the interior of 
the tomb in vivid flames, reducing all the ornaments to ashes, and pur^ 
suing the rash priest, who was alone enabled to escape the terrible ven- 
geance of St. Catharine by a precipitate flight." 

Amongst the most curious mannscripts preserved in the Library, is one to 
which the Fathers attach great importance ; it is the copy of an edict from 
the Prophet, addressed to all Christians. The original, written in Cufic 
characters upon the skin of a gazelle, and upon which still remain marks 
of the Prophet's fingers, is at present in the possession of the Sultan ; 
though formerly preserved in this Convent. In J 517, after the conquest of 
Egypt, Selim demanded it, and placed a copy, in parchment, certified by 
himself, among the archives of this monastery. M. Mauchin gives it in 
his work on Egypt. 

" In the Name of God, Merciful and Compassionate, 

" Mohammed-ebn-Abdallah gives this Edict for all the world in general. 
He announces and proclaims that he is the confidant of God, and charged 
with the keeping of all created beings. And in order that no one, under 
pretext of ignorance, may err, I have written this letter in the form of an 
ordinance, for my nation, and for all those who are Christians ; from the 
east and from the west, far and near ; for all those that are eloquent and 
not eloquent, the learned and the ignorant. Those who do not follow that 
which is related, and do not execute that which 1 ordain, will act contrary 
to the will of God and merit to be cursed, whoever they are, Sultan or other 
Mussulman. 

" If a father or a hermit retire into any mountain, grotto, plain, desert, 
town, village, or church, I will be behind him as his protector against all 
enemies, myself in person, my forces and my subjects, although these priests 
are cancelled by me. I will avoid doing them any hurt. No contributions 
must be taken from them, unless voluntarily. It is not permitted to change 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



29 



a bishop from his bishopric, nor a priest from his priesthood, nor a hermit 
from his hermitage — none of the objects in their churches must enter into 
the construction of the mosques ; not even into the habitations of Mussul- 
men. Those who do not conform to this will act contrary to the law of 
God and his Prophet. 

" It is forbidden to exact contributions from the priests, the bishops, and 
the devotees. I will preserve their prerogatives everywhere ; wherever they 
are, by land and by sea, in the east and in the west, in the south and in the 
north. They shall enjoy my privileges against everything disagreeable. 
Those who sow and plant in the mountains and places scattered about, shall 
not pay tithes or contributions ; not even voluntarily, when it is destined 
for their nourishment. If they want corn, every house shall assist them 
with a measure ; and they shall not be obliged to serve in the wars or pay 
imposts. Those who possess goods or merchandize shall not give more 
than twelve drachms of silver every year. No one must be molested ; it is 
forbidden to enter into discussion with them that follow the precepts of the 
Evangelists, but to act with them by soft measures, putting aside every- 
thing disagreeable, and preserving the wing of compassion. 

" If a Christian woman shall go to the house of a Mussulman, she must 
be well treated, and allowed to perform her prayer in a church, without any 
obstacle against her or her religion. He who acts contrary to this, will be 
regarded as a rebel against God and his Prophet. 

"The Christians shall be assisted to preserve their churches and houses ; 
those who assist them to keep their own religion, they shall not be obliged 
to carry arms ; but the Mussulmen shall bear them for them ; and they shall 
not disobey this ordinance to the end of the world. 

"The testimonies which attest the truth of this Edict, which has been 
given by IMohammcd-cbn-Abdallah, envoy of God for all the Christians, 
and which the accomplishment of that which they have agreed are Ali-ebn- 
Taleb, Aboubek-rebu-Aby-Kohafey, Omar ebn-el-Khattal, Otman-cbn- 



30 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



Assan, Ahou-el-Daida, Abou-Horeyrah, Abdallah-Abou-Massaoud, Ab- 
bat-ebn-Abdel-Motbb, Fodeyl-ebn-Abbas, Zobeir-ebn-Aouan, Talhat-ebn- 
Obeydallah, Saad-ebn-Maoz, Saad-ebn-Obadey, Thabet-ebn-Keys, Mon- 
Kayetmeth, Hachem-ebn-Ommyeh, Hareth-ebn-Thabet, Abdallah-ebn- 
Amrou, Ebn-el-Ass, Amer-ebn-Yassin, Moazzam-ebn-Kerachy, Abdel-Azim- 
ebn-Hassan. 

"This Edict was written by the hand of Aby-Taleb, the 3 Moharran, 
the second year of the Hegira, and of J. C. the 1st of August, 622. It is 
signed by the Prophet himself. Happy he who confirms, and unfortunate 
he who does not act according to, its contents.*" 

The Superior was extremely attentive in showing me every thing of 
interest. I commenced a plan, when he brought me an old one, which was 
tolerably correct. 

As we had not yet ascended the mountain, I was glad when the morning 
we had fixed upon arrived. We started an hour after sunrise (seven 
o'clock) in company with one of the monks, two Arabs, and a boy. The 
ascent of the mountain is immediately behind the convent ; it commences 
very well, although the original steps are much broken. These were cut 
by the Empress Helena, to the number of fifteen thousand-! In about 

* " Thevenot gives an account of the tradition how they came to be obliged to give a certain 
quantity of corn to any Arab who applies for it. They say that Mahomet once fell asleep at the gate 
of the convent. While he was asleep, there came an eagle and hovered a long time over his head ; 
which the porter observing, ran and acquainted the Abbot : who asked Mahomet whether he would be 
kind to them if he should one day be made a great lord. Though Mahomet denied any expectation of 
such dignity, the Abbot obtained a promise that he would do them all the good in his power. Then 
calling for an inkhorn he blacked his hand, for he knew not the art of writing, and clapping it on the 
skm of a gazelle, he gave it them as a confirmation of his promise. When, in course of time, he 
really arrived at the power presignified by the eagle, he called to mind his promise, and secured to them 
their monastery and all the land belonging to it, on condition that they should give victuals to all the 
Arabs in the neighbourhood." — Dr. Wells's Historical Geography of the Bible, vol. ii., p. 209. 

t " One may judge of the height of St. Catharine's Mount by this, which certainly, says Thevenot, 
is not so high as that by a third part, and yet has fourteen thousand steps up to the top of it." — Ibid, 
p. 113. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



31 



twenty minutes we came to a spring which flows directly out of the rock, 
forming* a kind of grotto. Ascending for about ten minutes more, we 
reached a small chapel, having the names of numerous travellers scratched 
upon its walls. This is dedicated to the Virgin Mary ; and in a narrow 
part of the road is a gate, formerly used as a confessional, no pilgrim being- 
allowed formerly to proceed until this ceremony had been performed. As 
they continued their journey, they repeated the third and following verses 
of the twenty-fourth Psalm : " Who shall ascend into the mountain of the 
Lord ? and who shall stand in his holy place? Even he that hath innocent 
hands and a pure heart ; which hath not lift up his mind unto vanity, nor 
sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and righteous- 
ness from the God of his salvation." From this point the ascent is steep 
and rugged ; but, after a laborious half hour, we arrived at a small but 
beautiful plain, on which is the chapel of St. Elias.* Here they show you 
the place where the saint rested. This plain is entirely surrounded by 
mountains, which form two valleys ; one of them extending to the convent 
of the Forty Martyrs. In the middle of this level grows a single cypress 
tree, beneath which is a fountain of excellent water. 

From hence the ascent was steep ; but we were soon compensated for 
our fatigue by a fine view of the distant country, and Mount St. Catharine 
on the opposite side of the Wady. Within a short distance of the top of 
the mountain is shown the impression of one of the feet of Mahomet's 
camel. The tradition relates that the animal was of so gigantic a size, 

* "As we were coming down we found bv the way a great stone; and, as the Greeks say, this is 
the place to which the Prophet Elias came, when he fled from Jezebel. 'Then Jezebel sent a mes- 
senger unto Elijah, saying, the Gods do so to me and more also, if I make not thy life like one of their 
lives by to-morrow this time. When he saw that, he arose,, and went for his life, and came to Beer- 
sheba, which is in Judah, and left his servant there.' They tell you that Elias, being come to that 
place where the stone is, an angel appeared unto him ; and with a rod smiting that great stone, made it 
fall down in the way, and forbade Elias to go any farther, telling him that, since Moses had not been in 
the Holy Land, he should not go to the top of this mount." — Thevenot. 



32 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



that it placed one foot at Mount Sinai, another at Mecca, a third at Da- 
mascus, and a fourth at Cairo ! The mark* in the rock gives to the place 
great sanctity in the eyes of the Mahometans, and there can be no doubt 
that the Greek monks are careful not to efface the impression, since the 
veneration for the spot serves to check the constant inclination of the Arabs 
to plunder the Convent. 

We attained the summit of the mountain in about three hours from the 
time of starting, including a short time for repose. The peak is not to be 
seen from below. 

The first thing which is shown to the visiter, is a portion of the rock 
beneath which is an aperture, which it is barely possible to crawl into upon 
hands and knees. This, say the monks, is the spot where Moses saw the 
glory of the Lord, as mentioned Exodus xxxiii. : "And the Lord said, 
behold there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock. And 
while my glory passeth by, I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will 
cover thee with mine hands while I pass by ; after, I will take away mine 
hand, and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen." It 
was curious to observe with what simplicity we were shown the impression 
of the hands and knees of the Prophet on the lower part of the stone, and 
of his back on the upper portion, by the same monk who had ridiculed the 
credulity of the Arabs respecting the impression of the camel's foot. Both 
were doubtless chiselled at the same time, and probably by the same hand. 
Here are remains of an ancient chapel, also of a mosque. The former 
is said to be the spot where Moses received the tables of testimony.! 
Exodus xxxi. 18. 

This mountain is called by the Christians the Mount of Transfiguration, 

* " It is so well imprinted that it can't be better stamped in the sand over which a camel passes." — 
Thevenot. 

f " Thus, (when the Lord had made an end of communing with Moses upon Mount Sinai) he gave 
him two tables of the Testimony, even tables of stone, written with the finger of God." 



» 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 33 

and by the Turks, Djebal Mousa. The summit of Mount Sinai is somewhat 
lower than that of Mount St. Catharine, being- 7440 French feet ; the Con- 
vent, or "Monastery of the Transfiguration," standing 5420 feet above the 
Red Sea, and the Peak above that 2020. 

After remaining here about an hour, we began our descent, which was 
attended with much labour, owing to the loose stones. We descended to 
the Cypress Tree of St. Elias, where we refreshed ourselves with a cup of 
coffee. We then proceeded, taking a different direction, toward a garden 
and grove of olives. Here was a small convent, called the Convent of 
Eibereen. Our direction then lay along the valley, in which the first 
object of interest in our way was the stone struck by Moses. I observed 
six or seven fissures from which water has proceeded. Descending the 
valley, we reached another garden belonging to the convent ; turning then 
to the eastward, we were shown a hole in the rock, bearing some rude 
resemblance to the head of a cow. This we were assured was the place 
where Aaron set up the Golden Calf. 

In about half an hour we arrived again at the convent, after an absence 
of ten hours. The next morning I employed in finishing my view of the 
altar and shrine of St. Catharine, and the afternoon in making a drawing 
of the exterior. On the 17th, I began a sketch of the small chapel built 
over the spot where God appeared to Moses, and made a drawing of the 
well within the convent. 

On the following day, having finished my view of the church, the 
Superior accompanied me to see a chapel (the first erected here, and prior 
to the foundation of the convent) built by the Empress Helena. I was 
also shown an illuminated manuscript, said to have been written by the 
Emperor Thcodosius. A copy of* the Psalter, in Greek, in six sheets 
octavo, written by a woman, w as c uriously minute as a specimen of writings 

I had a good deal of conversation with the Superior, who was kind and 
communicative. He spoke of the valuable resources which the universal 

F 



34 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



devotion to the Convent of St. Catharine procures among- the Greeks. 
"Our walls," said he, "might be built of gold, were we in possession of all 
the gifts of our brethren which have been torn from us by the Arabs : 
before Mahomet Ali was upon the throne we suffered incredibly ; many 
perished in their devotion to the interests of the convent. As we consider 
these in the light of martyrs, we preserve their bones in a chapel appro- 
priated to the purpose." 

19th. The thermometer at sunrise was at 61° Fahrenheit. Our first 
care this morning was to make an agreement with some Arabs to take us 
to Gaza at 75 piastres per camel. The fears of robbery expressed by 
these men prevented us from fixing our route to Akaba. Their expectation 
of danger induced them to demand five dollars for each camel. 

On the following day we breakfasted with the monks at the request of 
the Superior. We sat at a long table, near which was a pulpit ; where one 
of the monks read during the repast. The diet consisted of vegetables 
and fish, and grace was said by the Superior; before drinking the wine he 
pronounced a blessing on that too ; the meal was concluded as it began, 
with a thanksgiving. The Superior proceeded to an altar, taking some 
bread and wine, and distributed the same to all present ; we then took 
coffee, and the Fathers separated to their several avocations. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



35 



CHAPTER IV. 

Departure from the Convent of Mount Sinai — Change in the Character of the 
Rock — Ascent — Table-land — Arrival at aWell — Detention — Mineral Water — 
Sand Hills — Wady el Arish — Khan Yhounes — Gaza — Olive Plantations- Fleas — 
View of Bethlehem — Valley of Rephaim — Arrival at Jerusalem — Armenian 
Church — Decorations and Wealth — Chapel of St. James — Population of Jeru- 
salem — Holy Sepulchre— Reverses of Fortune — Conflagration of the Church, 
Oct. 12th, 1808 — Mount of Olives — Miraculous Impression of Our Lord's Foot — 
Olive Trees — Church of St. Anne — The Dolorous Way — Streets of Jerusalem — 
The Maugrabins — Jewish Synagogue — The Jews— Legends of the Monks. 

Having said farewell to the hospitable Superior, at half past eleven we 
left this celebrated and interesting mountain ; our road lying, for the first 
four hours, in the same direction as the approach ; after which it turned to 
the north-east. We proceeded in this latter course until sunset, when we 
stopped in a Wady, commanding a fine view of Mount Sinai.* On the 
following morning, the thermometer being 51°, we proceeded down the 
Wady, still continuing to enjoy a magnificent prospect, to which was now 
added Mount Scrbal. hi about two hours and a half we reached a well, 
at which we remained till 1 p.m. Our path was now rendered somewhat 
more difficult by a mountain composed of sandstone, over which it lay ; 
having descended this, we left behind us the granite which had been the 
principal component of the chain we were quitting. Within half an hour 

* The word Sinai signifies, in Arabic, a mountain generally, and this mountain in particular. In 
that chapter of the Koran called the chapter of the fig, God swears by this mountain : " By the fig, and 
the olive, and by Mount Sinai, and this territory of security," (viz., Mecca), &c. It is in the 
xcv chapter of the Koran. — D'Hcrbolot. 

F 2 



36 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SI^AI AND JERUSALEM. 



of sunset we again rested ; and the Arabs were employed in killing a 
sheep which we had purchased at the well. 

On the 22nd we departed, as usual, about sunrise ; the thermometer indi- 
cating a high temperature compared with that of the previous day, namely 
66°. Proceeding under the shadow of the mountain, we entered a narrow 
defile, composed, on both sides, of sandstone, with alternate strata of flint. 
In two hours and a half we began to ascend the Djebal, during which the 
camels seemed to suffer much ; as the anatomical character of the animal 
makes it inevitable, when taken from level and sandy plains. In about 
two hours we reached the summit, where we were repaid for the labour 
of the ascent by a striking prospect of Mount Serbal ; Sinai, however, was 
not visible. I was agreeably surprised to find the descent on the other 
side by no means so steep as the face by which we had climbed ; indeed, 
the top of this hill forms an extensive table-land. After repose, rendered 
unusually grateful by our previous fatigue, we proceeded along a level 
path, observing on the right hills of limestone, till half an hour after sun- 
set, when we encamped for the night. The next morning set us in motion 
again at sunrise ; when we passed a valley covered with low bushes, among 
which I observed a considerable number of partridges. Our route, chang. 
ing a little, brought us into a dreary looking spot, where little verdure 
relieved the blank surface of the sandstone : here we arrived at the expected 
well, the water of which was good, though strongly impregnated with 
sulphur. At mid-day the thermometer was at 87° ; we remained, in conse- 
quence of Mr. Catherwood being indisposed, for the remainder of the day 
at the well, in the shadow of a huge rock. On the 24th, our companion's 
indisposition continuing, we were compelled to remain stationary. The 
tedium of the day was a little enlivened by the bustle of forty camels, 
which came to drink at the well ; they belonged to a neighbouring en- 
campment of Arabs. I amused myself with shooting at the partridges, 
but my gun killed nothing for me but a brace of hours, as I found it dim- 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 37 

cult to get near the birds. On the following day, Mr. Catherwood being 
sufficiently recovered to proceed, we continued our journey over an arid 
stony plain ; after three hours of repose, we proceeded, passing the source 
of the Wady el Arish, after which we arrived at another well, which 
possessed the mineral taste so frequently observed in the waters of the 
Desert. 

We quitted this spot at half past six on the following morning, the ther- 
mometer being at 62°, the sky cloudy, and a westerly wind blowing. The 
route this day was exceedingly unpleasant, from the white lime over 
which it passed. 

Our Sheikh, Salami, procured some salt on the road, which was of re- 
markably fine quality — rested at mid-day for three hours — then proceeded 
till 7 p. m.j when we pitched for the night. On the following morning we 
continued to travel on a plain ; at ten o'clock we crossed the great Hadj 
road from Cairo to Mecca. After travelling for six hours, we rested ; the 
thermometer being at mid-day 80°: at 3 p.m., we again set forward, the 
road continuing to be over a plain. On the 28th, we started this morning 
at six — thermometer 60° — the road still level, but with mountains on the 
left: about 9 a. m. joined the road from Suez to Gaza — proceeded till 
four in the afternoon, being anxious to arrive at a well, our water being- 
short. For the first time during several days we observed some Arabs 
upon the road: we soon reached the well, which we found to contain excel- 
lent rain water. On the 29th, our road soon brought us among hills of 
drifted sand, which must cause great discomfort, if not absolute danger, to 
the traveller in windy weather. In many places the sand covered the 
path; our Sheikh acted as pilot. I suffered extremely from the intense 
heat in this day's journey, which, as well as the labour of advancing, was 
increased much by the sand. We proceeded, ploughing our way through 
this sea of sand, (including a rest of two hours), until sunset, when we 
found a slight descent in the road, and also a considerable improvement 



38 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



therein. We stopped for the night at half past seven, leaving Djebal Serbal 
to the south. On the 30th, our route this day continued over the same 
sandy plain till about 10 a. ml, when we arrived at the Wady el Arish, 
where we found a well of bad water: here, too, we met a caravan bound 
for Suez. Tobacco seemed the principal merchandize with which it was 
charged. After leaving the well we entered a beautiful and fertile valley. 
On the 1st of October we departed from our resting-place at five o'clock; 
the wind was west, and the thermometer at 74°; our route crossed the 
smaller Wadys that join that of El Arish ;* we also met several caravans. 
During the night a shower of rain. 

The rain, which was renewed on the morning of the 2nd, and which 
forced us to rest under the tent till seven o'clock, having in some measure 
abated, though not before it had drenched most of our baggage, we 
again set forward to reach Khan Yhounes, where we arrived at half past 
nine ; it is a small and insignificant town, with a single mosque. We left 
this poor place after remaining half an hour, and proceeded along an 
excellent road towards Gaza, which is situated close to the sea, the distance 
being about three miles. After resting at mid-day for twenty minutes under 
the refreshing shade of a tree, we proceeded, and entered Gaza at half past 
three, taking up our quarters at a public Khan. Gaza,f the first town of any 
consequence on the road from Egypt, in Syria, is divided into two nearly 
equal parts, one of which is situated on a rising ground, with a mosque 

* The town of El Arish (most probably the ancient Rhinocolura) was considered the last Egyptian 
town, and is still held by the Pacha of Egypt. The environs are cultivated, though vegetation has 
to contend with the sand. The distance from hence to Khan Younes is given by Ali Bey as eleven 
hours. 

f " According to the ancient system of warfare, it must have been a place of no inconsiderable 
strength. For two months it baffled all the efforts of Alexander the Great, who was repeatedly 
repulsed, and wounded in the siege, which he afterwards revenged in a most inhuman manner upon 
the person of its gallant defender, Bsetis ; whom, while yet alive, having caused his ankles to be 
bored, he dragged round the walls, tied to his chariot wheels, in the barbarous parade of imitating the 
less savage treatment of the corpse of Hector by Achilles." — Richardson's Travels, Vol. ii. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



39 



in the centre. The other half appears to comprise the poorer part of the 
town. It is surrounded with sycamore and date trees. In a ride which I 
took round the place, I found the houses generally constructed with stone, 
having domes to throw off the rain. Each side of the lane or street is 
lined with hedges of the prickly pear. I remarked several fragments of 
Roman architecture of the Lower Empire. The weather was cloudy, with 
rain in the morning. On the morning of the 4th we quitted Gaza for 
Jerusalem, with six camels, for which we were charged at the rate of 
twenty-one piastres a head. On leaving the town we entered a fine plan- 
tation of olive trees.* In several villages which we passed, the inhabitants 
were actively employed in threshing d'houra, or maize. 

At mid-day we rested under a tree, during which refreshment a woman 
came up and vehemently upbraided us for profaning a burial-place. At 
a village which we reached about half past three, we were obliged to pass 
the night, it being the home of one of our camel-drivers, an annoyance 
which was increased by the myriads of fleas which infested the wretched 
shed which was the only shelter we could obtain. These were truly 
" industrious " insects, and might have made a fortune for the happy man 
who could have imported them into England. Our entomological misery 
received an addition from the cries of the camel-drivers, who wished to set 
ofr in the middle of the night. We were heartily glad when the morning, 
cold as it was, released us from our tormentors. We proceeded until 
twelve o'clock, when we rested under an olive tree; here we began to enter 
the hills, bearing trees of this description — proceeded for two hours longer, 
when we rested for the night near a village. On the sixth, setting out 

* " Not crowded together in such impenetrable masses as in the Ionian Islands, so as to prevent a 
free circulation of air, and infect the neighbourhood with a noisome damp, hut free and open, admitting 
the cultivation and healthy growth of vegetables and their roots." 

At the edge of this grove Dr. Richardson saw a number of storks, a bird held in high veneration 
by the Mussulmans. 



40 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



early, we entered a beautiful and verdant valley, which led us among hills 
covered with a variety of trees, but traversed by an execrable camel-road. 
On leaving the spot of our noon-day repose, we began to ascend a steep 
and difficult path, which, when surmounted, gave us a magnificent view 
of the sea, and the surrounding mountains. Here we passed an ancient 
building, with a few houses near it, and a large vineyard close by. Half 
an hour more gratified us with a sight of part of Bethlehem, which we 
left on our right ; the road continued amongst the hills, and was extremely 
rugged, till we came to a small building called the Convent of St. Elias,* 
from which I beheld the long-wished-for walls of the Holy City.f Through 
the valley of Rephaim,| where David overcame the Philistine, we reached 
the gates of Jerusalem half an hour after sunset. These we found closed, 
and were compelled to pitch our tent for the night outside the walls. 

Early on the morning of the 7th, having been kept awake by the impa- 
tience so naturally felt under such circumstances, we entered the gate of 
the city. Our first care was to obtain private lodgings ; but, after spending 
some time in an unsuccessful attempt, we applied at the Latin Convent, 
where we succeeded in engaging two or three rooms. 

In the afternoon 1 took a ride to see the bazaar, and observed several 
pretty specimens of Saracenic architecture, fountains, and churches. Early 

* '* This, which is a Greek monastery, as well as the ruined tower of Simeon, and the tomb of Rachel, 
are pointed out by the guides. The last is a Turkish oratory with a rounded top, like the whitened 
sepulchre of an Arab Sheikh; and is superstitiously respected by the Turks as a burial-place." — 
Clarke. 

+ It is generally agreed that the road which enters the city by the Damascus gate gives the most 
imposing approach. The so-much-talked-of view from the Mount of Olives is inferior, as the spectator 
beholds rather a plan of the place than a prospect. 

The magnificent description of the first view of the Holy City given by Dr. Clarke (who saw it 
under the illusion of a brilliant setting sun) has not been confirmed by later travellers. Chateaubriand, 
Buckingham, Brown, Jolliffe, Sir F. Henniker, all corroborate the account of Dr. Richardson. 

| Or of the Giants. The first war David had, after he was made King over all Israel, and fixed his 
royal seat at Jerusalem, was with the Philistines, who came and spread themselves in the Valley of 
Rephaim. — Samuel, ii., v. 18., also Joshua, xv., 8. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



41 



in the morning of the 8th, I went, accompanied by Mr. Catherwood, to see 
the Armenian church," which is the richest, the most magnificent, and the 
most numerously attended of all the Christian churches. Manndrell 
describes " its two altars, decked with rich mitres, embroidered copes, 
crosses both of silver and gold, crowns, chalices, and other church utensils 
without number. In the middle of the church,'' he says, "is a pulpit made 
of tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl, with a beautiful canopy or cupola 
over it, of the same fabric. The tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl are so 
exquisitely mingled that the work far exceeds the material." Buckingham 
says that " the church, though small, is of a lofty height, and crowned by 
a central dome ; and, being free of pews or stalls of any description, looks 
considerably larger than it really is." Although the pictures with which 
the walls are loaded were in the most atrocious taste, the general effect, 
from the brilliancy of their colouring, in addition to the gay lightness 
produced by the brightly-tinted tiles with which the intervals of the walls 
were faced, was extremely rich and imposing. The colours, too, of the 
carpets, with which the floor was covered, completed the gorgeousness of 
the scene. 

Hasselquist, though given somewhat to exaggeration, gives a tolerably 
correct idea of the riches possessed by the Armenian church and convent, 
which even the Latins, jealous as one sect is of the other, allow to surpass 
them infinitely in wealth. Pilgrims arrive in immense numbers from 
Armenia, Egypt, and the Levant, and seldom leave the convent without 
assistance to a considerable amount. I was much struck by the dignified 
and almost majestic deportment of the Armenian clergy. 

In a small recess in the church you are shown a kind of chapel, or sanc- 
tuary, dedicated to St. James; this they pretend is the spot where ho was 
beheaded. The profusion with which sculpture, (in white marble), lamps 

* This church was erected by the Kingfl of Spain for the accommodation of pilgrims from that 
country. The Armenians afterwards came into possession of it, which they have retained up to the 
present time. 

G 



42 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



of silver, painting, gilding, and mosaic, are lavished over this spot, produces 
an effect of wonderful richness. 

The Armenians, of whom there are a considerable number settled in 
Jerusalem, are by far the most respectable and wealthy persons of any of 
the Christian sects. Many of them exhibit in their houses, entertainments, 
&c, a degree of comfort, not to say splendour, equally gratifying and 
surprising to the traveller ; they are, as a class, very hospitable, and the 
appearance of sincerity and unaffectedness which we perceived, in spite of 
their gravity, was a great relief, after the sordid adulation and arrogant 
pomposity so often met with in eastern conversation. 

From these Fathers we acquired some information respecting the so long 
disputed point, the relative population of Jerusalem.* Their accounts I 
took some pains to examine and compare with the numerous and often 
conflicting censuses made by previous travellers. The following appears 
to be somewhat nearer the truth than any account which I have yet seen : — 
Jerusalem at present is supposed to contain nearly 21,000 inhabitants ; 
of these there may be, 

Turks 13,000 

Jews 4000 

Greeks 2000 

Catholics 1000 

Armenians . . 500 

Copts 60 

Total 20560 

* The number of Jews in this population has been given in the most contradictory manner. Dr. 
Richardson makes the number 10,000. 

Buckingham says, on the authority of Moallim Zacharias, the governor's banker, and one of the 
principal Jews in the city, that there were not one thousand male Jews in Jerusalem, but at least 
three thousand females. — Travels, Vol. I., p. 398. 

The origin of these discrepancies may be traced to the variety of persons from whom travellers 
have obtained their information ; for instance, Mr. Buckingham consulted a Jew, Dr. Richardson 
a Turk, &c. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 43 

After visiting the Armenian church we proceeded to that of the Holy 
Sepulchre ; to the exterior, however, we confined our examination It is 
built partly on the level ground, and partly on an ascent. In front of the 
edifice is a large open court, which is generally thronged, like that in the 
temple of old, with buyers and sellers; the traffic, however, does not con- 
sist of " doves," nor are there any " changers of money ;" but in relics, 
beads, bracelets, and the rest of the trumpery which has such supernatural 
efficacy in the eyes of the Roman Catholic pilgrim. The sides of this open 
space are formed by the wings of the convent, and the door of the church 
is facing it. The facade is said to be the work of the Emperor Constan- 
tine. A letter is preserved wherein Constantine orders the Bishop of Jeru- 
salem, Macaire, to build a church over this spot. Three hundred years 
after this it was sacked by Khosroes, King of Persia, and the cross 
carried away. Heraclius recaptured this venerable treasure, and Modes- 
tus, Bishop of Jerusalem, re-established the church. Its posterity was 
not destined to be of long continuance, for soon after Jerusalem was taken 
by the Caliph Omar, who was, however, disposed to treat the Christians 
with lenity. 

The city of Jerusalem has so often suffered the horrors of siege and 
sack, that it is almost unnecessary to particularize, or even to enumerate, 
all these melancholy reverses. 

To give, however, some idea of the fury with which the war of th 
Crusades was carried on, it may not be unprofitable here to give an extract 
describing its assault and capture by the Christians, in the year of our 
Lord 1099, on the 15th of July. 

After describing the vigorous resistance made by the besieged, and the 
sufferings of the Crusaders from the ponderous weight of their arms, and 
the intolerable fierceness of the sun, and having remarked the shattered 
state of the machines employed by them, our author relates one of those 
' pious frauds " so common and so effectual in that age, employed in the 

g 2 



i 



44 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 

form of an apparition, which succeeded in adding energy to the fainting 
besiegers. 

When they were deliberating to postpone the final attack till the mor- 
row, " on a sudden there appeared upon the Mount of Olives a cavalier com- 
pletely armed, waving towards the city a shield, all blazing in the rays of 
the sun, and seeming, by this action, to give the signal to the Christians to 
enter the place. 

" Godfrey and Raymond, who were among the first to perceive this, cried 
out that St. George had come to their succour. At the same instant the 
gaze of all was turned towards the Mount of Olives, and the sight filled the 
army with fresh ardour. They renewed the combat with a fury which had 
not been before exhibited ; the women, the children, the sick, the aged, all 
took part, some in dragging the machines, others in bringing refreshments 
to the troops. Godfrey first entered the city, having taken the Bar- 
bican, and made himself master of the inner wall in the midst of a shower 
of falarics, or darts armed with that terrible ' Greek fire,' which figures as 
such a dreadful implement of war in the attack and defence of those ages. 

"The besieged, enveloped in flames and smoke, are forced to fight man 
to man, and begin to be terrified at the sight of the forest of lances and 
swords which opposed them. 

" Godfrey seizes the moment of their confusion, and dashes, sword in 
hand, into the city, accompanied by Eustace, Baldwin de Burgh, Bernard 
of Saint Valier, and closely followed by D'Albret, Lethold, and Englebert 
of Tournay, besides an immense crowd of soldiers, well imitating the 
example of their leaders. 

" On the other side, Tancred, animated by the success which they expected, 
though they did not see it, and the cries, ' It is the will of God ! — It is the 
will of God ! ' which resounded on all sides, as the Crusaders spread them- 
selves through the town, made a last effort, and succeeded, with Gaston 
of Beam, Hugh of St. Paul, Gerard of Roussillon, Louis de Mouson, Conon, 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



45 



and Lambert of Montague, and followed by their principal soldiers, in 
breaking the gate of St. Stephen, and opening a passage to the rest of the 
troops. 

" As they entered, they filled the air with cries of, ' It is the will of God ! 
It is the will of God ! ' bat the crowd is so immense, for an entrance so 
narrow, and the press so violent, that many are stifled ; and the horses, 
crushed close together, snorting, dropping with sweat, made, in spite of 
their riders, a passage with their teeth and hoofs, biting, kicking, and 
overthrowing all that opposed their way. 

" It was three hours in the afternoon when the whole northern part of 
Jerusalem was filled with the Crusaders ; and Raymond, having received 
intelligence by three messengers from Godfrey of the success, encouraged 
his soldiers to increased exertion. ' Lo ! ' he cried, ' soldiers, the French 
are masters of Jerusalem, and we are still engaged with the Saracens ! ' 
At these words his own ardour and that of his troops was re-excited. 

" Being unable by any other means to scale the wall, as their moving tower 
was nearly destroyed, they planted ladders, and, fixing their swords and 
lances in the interstices of the wall, to serve for steps, they mutually assisted 
each other in gaining the top of the rampart, and dispersed the enemy, 
who, discouraged by the fate of their companions, gave way, and fled to 
Castel Pisano, under the command of their Emir, whither they were pur- 
sued by Raymond, who left a part of his troops to invest the fortress, 
while he himself departed to join in the carnage which filled the other 
parts of the town. 

"The massacre was horrible, and perhaps nothing like it had ever been 
witnessed; on all sides the Infidels were butchered in the streets, in the 
houses, and in the mosques : it was difficult to find a passage among the 
mountains of dead. 

" In the Temple, the carnage was so fierce that the victors arc reported 
to have been up to their knees in blood. On this sanguine stream floated 



46 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 

legs, arms, and heads separated from their trunks, as upon a river. The 
' number of the victims within the city is almost incredible. The slaughter 
was performed with such fury, that all, in arms or defenceless, women or 
aged men, were put to the sword. 

Mathew Paris. 
Albert Acq. 
Guib. Abb. 
Anonym., &c. 

In 1009, the holy places were ruined by Hakem, Sultan of Egypt, and 
in ninety years from this period the Crusaders succeeded in obtaining 
possession of this so-long-disputed city, but managed to retain it only 
eighty-nine years more, when it was retaken by the Mussulmans. In 
] 257, the Franciscans* came into Palestine, but were obliged to retire at 
the approach of Melech Seraf, who, with a considerable army, established 
himself in the town on the 4th of May in the same year. He is said to 
have put to the sword 25,000 Christians. The ancient chronicles assert 
that Padre Rogero Guarini, in 1333, going to Armenia, passed through 
Egypt, and obtained permission from the Sultan for a small number of 
Christians to reside at Jerusalem. 

Notwithstanding the assurances which Guarini received, the Franciscans, 
up to the year 1342, were subjected to much insult and oppression ; but, 
from that time, having the protection of Robert, King of Sicily, they suc- 
ceeded in permanently establishing themselves near the church. 

The church was totally destroyed by fire on the 12th of October, 1808. 
The following account was transcribed by the Abb6 Geramb from the 

* The convents of the order of St. Francis at present existing in Asia and Africa are situated at 
Jerusalem, Rama, St. John d'Acre, Jaffa, Lainurn, Nicosia, Bethlehem, St John of the Desert, Naza- 
reth, Sidon, Tripoli in Syria, Alexandria, Cairo, Mount Lehanon, Damascus, and Aleppo. The monks 
are Spanish. 

The monastery at Rama is said to be built on the site of the house of Nicodemus, to whom it is 
dedicated. It is occupied by two Spanish monks. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 4 ' 

relation of an Italian monk, an eye-witness of the conflagration, addressed 
to a friend. I will omit the lamentations of the worthy ecclesiastic, plen- 
tifully interspersed with ejaculation and interrogatory in the French taste. 

"The church of the Holy Sepulchre, that monument erected by St. 
Helena and Constantine with imperial magnificence, and preserved by 
the piety of Christians, which had claimed the admiring veneration of the 
most distant nations, has been devoured by the flames! Receive some 
imperfect details of this deplorable event. On the night of the 11th of 
October, about three o'clock in the morning, the fire began to show itself 
in the chapel of the Armenians, situate on the gallery or terrace of the 
great church. 

"The assistant sacristan of the Franciscans, on going to visit the lamps 
which were always burning in the chapel of Calvary, was the first to per- 
ceive it. At the first appearance of the dreadful sight, which almost 
deprived him of reason, he ran, with all the speed which age and terror 
permitted, to obtain help. But the rapidity of the flames rendered his 
efforts vain ; before assistance could arrive, the devouring element had 
already seized both the chapel and dwelling of the Armenians, as well as 
that of the Greeks, which were partly constructed of wood, very dry, and 
painted in oil colours. The Franciscan friars, after the midnight service, 
had gone to repose. Aroused by the strange noise which resounded 
through the building, they arose in haste. What must have been their 
horror at finding the gate firmly closed ? In a few minutes the flames, 
bursting both from the Armenian side, and that occupied by the Syrians 
and the Copts,* threatened the cupola of the great temple, which was 
constructed of enormous beams covered with lead, and elevated porpen- 

* Among the minor sects of Christians at Jerusalem, the principal arc the Syrians, Copts, and 
Maronitcs ; though all insignificant compared with the Armenians and Latins. The Maronitcs derive 
their name from the Abh6 Maron, horn in Syria in the fourth century. His disciples were at first 
very numerous, and his reputation so great th.it St. John Chrysostom wrote to him from his place of 
exile to heg him to pray to God for patience and courage under his sufferings. 



48 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



dicularly over the spot on which stands the Holy Sepulchre. These 
beams had been brought from Mount Lebanon at the commencement of 
the previous century, when the Christian prince had caused this dome 
to be raised a chef d'oeuvre of architecture both on account of its height 
and the strength of its construction. The whole was in a blaze. The 
Franciscans, alone and unfurnished with the necessary implements, at- 
tempted to escape by a small window, to save the monastery of Saint 
Saviour, and to apply to the Turkish government. 

" At intervals the young Arab Catholics darted from without to the 
interior, and braved the flames to save what they could. But at this 
moment the fire gained the organ and the altars of the Holy Virgin ! The 
church resembled a huge furnace. The pilasters fell with a crash, bearing 
with them the arcades and the columns which surrounded the Holy 
Sepulchre. Inundated by a shower of lead ; the heat was such that the 
largest columns of marble were rendered red hot, as well as the marble 
pavement which covered the Tomb. In short, between five and six hours, 
the great dome fell with a terrific crash, together with the columns and 
pilasters which had still sustained the gallery of the Greeks. The thrice 
Holy Sepulchre was enshrouded in a torrent of fire, and the church pre- 
sented the spectacle of a volcano in eruption. I am happy that I can 
console your piety by recounting the miracles of Divine assistance vouch- 
safed in favour of the religious of the Franciscan order. The fire, having 
reached the wooden gate which separates the altar of Mary Magdalene 
from the choir of the great church, spared the sacristy and all that it 
contained ; nothing was injured in the little monastery of these venerable 
fathers, their cells, or their chapel. The marble on the spot where Jesus 
Christ appeared, after his resurrection, to Mary Magdalen, completely 
escaped injury, although the fire was most active on this side of the build- 
ing, having consumed the organ, and almost calcined the marble which sur- 
rounded it. That chapel of the Holy Sepulchre where the Franciscans 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



49 



worship, though placed under the dome, and consequently in the centre of 
the flames, was but little injured; some of the ornaments and the cords by 
which the lamps were suspended were recovered, together with the excel- 
lent picture painted on canvass, representing the Resurrection, though the 
chapel of Our Lady of Sorrow, belonging to the Copts, which was in actual 
contact with the monument, was reduced to ashes. 

" The Chapel of the Angel, which is at the entrance of the Holy Sepul- 
chre, was untouched, except by the burning of some velvet which formed 
part of its ornaments. The walls and pavement received no damage. At 
the chapel of Calvary they were able to save the statue of the Virgin of 
Sorrow, which stood between the altar of purification and that of the 
Exaltation of the Cross. This statue was a present from the King of 
Portugal. The spot where Our Saviour was crucified belongs to the 
Catholics; it was but little injured. I cannot say the same of the 
chapel of the elevation of the Cross,* of which the Greeks are in possession. 
One circumstance is very remarkable, namely, that, in spite of the tempest 
which raged the whole time — in spite of a neighbouring window which 
would have favoured the ravages of the conflagration — the chapel behind 
that of Our Lady of Sorrows received no damage. This chapel, erected on 
the spot where the Holy Virgin stood with the other Maries while the Jews 
attached her Son to the Cross, has remained uninjured, and the picture 
representing the event, though so near the fire, likewise has escaped. 

" At six o'clock the fury of the fire began to subside; at nine it was no 
longer so dangerous or so menacing. 

"On the following day, in removing the ruins, we observed, with new 
astonishment, that the sacred stone which covers that of (he unction, and 
which we expected to find calcined, had not suffered the least damage. 

* "That very part of Calvary, where they say Christ was fastened to and lifted upon his cross, is 
left entire ; being about ten or twelve yards square, and standing at this day so high above the 
common floor of the church, that you have twenty-one steps to go up to its top. "— Maundrell, p. G'J. 

II 



50 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



" No lives were lost in the conflagration ; but some of the monks were 
wounded." 

In the afternoon we visited the Mount of Olives, from which may be 
obtained a striking view of the city. On reaching the summit, the eleva- 
tion of which rather corresponds to the term hill than mountain, we gained 
a tolerably extensive prospect of the plain of Jericho,* intersected by the 
Jordan and the Dead Sea ; the whole being nearly surrounded by mountains 
of considerable height. The summit is about two miles from Jerusalem. 
We were here shown the print of one of Our Saviour's feet in the rock, 
which is held in great reverence. It is of the left foot, the legend of the 
Christians relating that the corresponding impression of the right was 
stolen by the Turks, who transported it to their mosque. Chateaubriand 
says that Bernard de Breidenbach saw it in 1483. The Turks, for a fixed 
tax or caphar, as Maundrell calls it, permit the Christians to take a cast 
of this impression in wax or clay, and Dr. Richardson describes that on 
the two occasions of his visiting this celebrated spot, he found it crowded 
with pilgrims, waiting for their turn to take a cast. The print is much 
worn by the immense quantity of kissing which it has undergone. The 
composition of the Mount of Olives is limestone. Scattered over it are 
many patches of olive trees, some of which, being of old growth, says 
Maundrell, " were believed to be the same as stood there in our Saviour's 
time. In virtue of which persuasion, the olives, and olive-stones, and oil 
which they produced, became an excellent commodity in Spain. But that 
these trees cannot be so ancient as is pretended, is evident from what 
Josephus testifies, Bell. Jud., cap. xv. and in other places, namely, that 
Titus, in the siege of Jerusalem, cut down all the trees within about one 
hundred furlongs of the city." 

* Pococke fixes the site of the ancient Bethphage in a spot still occupied by a small village, sur- 
rounded by corn land tolerably cultivated : he describes it as about half a mile from the summit of the 
Ascension, before you come to Bethany by that road. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



5J 



Geramb, speaking- of the garden of Gethsemane, says, " I am not igno- 
rant that, during the siege of the Holy City, Titus ordered all the trees 
round about to be cut down ;" but supposes, like a good Catholic, that 
eight or ten might have been saved. " It is impossible,"' says the learned 
and amiable Dr. Clarke, " to view these trees with indifference. It is truly 
a curious and interesting fact that during a period of little more than two 
thousand years, Hebrews, Assyrians, Romans, Moslems, and Christians 
have been successively in possession of the rocky mountains of Palestine ; 
yet the olive still vindicates its paternal soil, and is found at this day upon 
the same spot which was called by the Hebrew writers Mount Olivet and 
the Mount of Olives,* eleven centuries before the Christian era." 

On our return from this spot, so richly fraught with the most stirring- 
associations, we proceeded to examine the ruins of St. Anne's church, a 
structure in the early Gothic style. We then proceeded to view several 
interesting spots in the Via Dolorosa, which the traveller is gravely assured 
is the path by which Our Lord was led to execution. It runs from St. 
Stephen's gate to Calvary, and there are nine stations, some of which it is, 
as Maundrell says, necessary "only to name. The place where Pilate pre- 
sented Christ to the people, with this mystic saying, 'Behold the num.' 
The spot where Christ fainted thrice under the weight of his cross. Thirdly, 
where the Blessed Virgin swooned away at so tragical a sight. Fourthly, 
where St. Veronica presented him the handkerchief to wipe his bleeding 
brows. Fifthly, where the soldiers compelled Simon the Cyrenian to bear 
the cross." There are four other stations in the Holy Sepulchre. 

The principal streets of Jerusalem are three in number. The llarat 
Bab el llamond, the street of the gate of the Column, or the Damascus 

* " And David went up the Mount of Olives-, and wept as he went up and nil the people 

that was with him." — 2 Sam.,xv. 30. 

" And his feet shall stand that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the 
cast side ; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof." — Zcchariah, xiv. 1. 

ii 2 



52 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



gate ; the direction of which is nearly north and south. The Harat el 
Halam, the Via Dolorosa, the Souk el Rebir, or street of the great bazaar, 
which lies east and west. Besides these there are several of inferior size : 
the Harat el Nassara, or street of Christians, which runs from the Holy 
Sepulchre to the Latin Convent, Harat el Muslemin, the Street, as its name 
implies, of the Turks — the Harat el Armen, or of the Armenians — the 
Harat Bab Hotta — lying near the temple — Harat el Zahara, the public 
quarter, inhabited by the poorer class — the Harat el Maugrabe, the street 
of the Maugrabins ; this singular people give their descent from the Moors 
whom Isabella and Ferdinand expelled from Spain. " They are," says 
Chateaubriand,* " the people of West Barbary. They were charitably 
received in the Holy City ; a mosque was built for their use, and bread, 
fruit, and money, are yet distributed among them. The heirs of the proud 
Abencerrages, the elegant architects of the Alhambra, are become porters 
in Jerusalem, and are sought after for their swiftness and intelligence." 
The Harat el Youd, or Jew's quarter, comes next, in which are the 
slaughter-houses, the effluvia of which are sometimes horrible. 

T proceeded, through a mean and dirty street, to the synagogue ; the 
present representative of the glorious temple of David. It is a small, not 
very clean, miserable room, with a pulpit in the centre, from which the Law 
is read. The female part of the congregation is separated from the male 
portion. 

This meanness and neglect, appearing in the places of worship, as well 
as in the exterior of the dwellings of the Jews, is a politic affectation of 
poverty adopted by that shrewd people, to conceal their wealth and com- 
fort from the ravenous eye of the Turk. The interior of their houses will 
in general afford a pleasing contrast to the approach, and the traveller 
will find a comfort and hospitality therein, which will console him from 



* Travels in Greece, &c, Vol. ii., p. 89. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



53 



the stupid arrogance and discomfort of the Turks. The Jews are generally 
well-informed, and invaluable as guides in Jerusalem,* as they give the 
Hebrew names of the places, and do not embellish their descriptions with 
that multitude of trumpery legends which is showered upon the unfortu- 
nate stranger by the Christian monks of all denominations. It is not, 
however, easy to prevail upon them to communicate their knowledge ; but 
their reserve once overcome, they prove the best ciceroni. With regard 
to the Christians, the Greeks will be found much more intelligent in this 
respect than the Latins. They are generally better informed, and have, 
moreover, the advantage of a longer residence at Jerusalem than the 
Latins, who remain only three years at a time. 

As might be expected, the Catholics are much offended by the contempt 
which a Protestant finds it so difficult to repress, for the childish inven- 
tions and ridiculous stories which obscure and confuse the path towards 
acquiring any authentic information respecting the scenes so familiar to 
us from our childhood in the pages of Scripture. The following passage, 
(from a work lately published at Paris), exhibits some of this feeling : — 
"Chose extraordinaire! Les Catholiques, Les Grecs, Les Armenians, qui 

habitent le Liban, &c en un mot, tous les peuples Chretiens, ont a 

Jerusalem des representants d'ont la voix s'eleve sans ccssc avec l'cncens 
vers le Dieu qui sacrifia son fils unique pour sauver le monde. Une seule 
voix n'y murmure pas le nom de Jesus Christ C'est cclle du Protes- 
tant ! " 

* " Their form of worship is the same as in this country, and I believe in every country which the 
Jews inhabit. They are not, however, expected to he very freepjent or regular in their attendance on 
public worship. The ladies generally make a point of going on the Sunday, that is, on the Fridav 
night or Saturday morning after they are married ; and being thus introduced in their new capacity, 
once a year is considered a sufficient compliance, on their part, with the ancient injunction to assem- 
ble themselves in the House of Prayer." — Dr. Richardson. 



54 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



CHAPTER V. 

Gates of Jerusalem — Extent of the City — Its Position — Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre — Tomb of our Lord — Credulity of the Pilgrims — Chapel of the 
Apparition — Calvary — Rent in the Rock — Chapel of St. Helena — Search for the 
True Cross — Contributions to the Holy Sepulchre — Letter of Henry VIII.tothe 
Monks — Tomb of Godfrey of Bouillon — The Village of Bethany — Mosque of 
Omar — Church of the Purification — Drawing and Measuring the Interior of the 
Mosque. 

We next visited the gates and walls of the city. The sites of the former 
being well fixed, and some of the gates themselves being still in existence, 
we obtained much additional facility in tracing the topography of the 
ancient Jerusalem. 

The city had formerly twelve gates, corresponding to the number of the 
tribes of Israel. The situation of several of these has been thus defined ; the 
Sheep Gate,* near the Temple, the name of which indicates its purpose, viz., 
of admitting the sacrificial sheep, after they had been washed in the pool of 
Bethesda, near this gate. 

Considerable doubt appears to involve the site of the Fish Gate ; f which 
some have affirmed to have stood on the west side of the city ; because the 
sea (viz., the Mediterranean) was in that direction. But, as the Sea of 
Galilee also afforded fish, the greater probability is in favour of placing it 

* Porta Gregis ; built by the high priest, Eliasel. 

t Porta Piscium ; built by the sons of Asnaa, after the return from the captivity in Babylon. 



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B**iM of TA+t*t»tJ 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



55 



on the north side of the old city ; making it the next gate after passing the 
Ephraim Gate, to a person proceeding from west to east. This supposition 
is strengthened, as Dr. Wells observes, by the expression of Nehemiah, 
xii. 39,* where the list is given in the same order. There is no dispute 
respecting the position of the Ephraim Gate; it was on the north side of 
the city, as its name indicates, leading toward the tribe of Ephraim, which 
lay in that direction. 

The Old Gate f was so called probably from its having been one of the 
ports built by the Jebusites, who gave to the city the name of Jebus-Salem ; 
since altered, for the sake of euphony, into Jerusalem — Salem signifying 
rest. 

The situation of the ancient Horse Gate is also perfectly unascertained. 

The Gate of the Valley | is supposed to have led into the valley of 
Jehoshaphat, at the north-east corner of the wall surrounding the court of 
the Temple. 

The Dung Gate§ of Scripture probably stood in the same place as the 
present gate of the same name ; and therefore a little beyond the south- 
west corner of the wall of the Temple court. As its appellation denotes, 
it was used for the passage of the filth caused by the beasts that were 
sacrificed in the sacred precincts. 

The Gate of the Fountain || comes next; but it does not appear from 
which spring it took its name ; viz., the Fountain of Siloam, or that of 
Gihon. The former of these is placed by the accurate Sandys somewhat 
south of the Dung Gate ; near it he also gives a fountain called the Foun- 

* '* And upon the gate of Ephraim, and upon the old gate, and upon the fish gate, and the tower of 
Hananeel and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate." 

t Porta Vctus ; it escaped the general ruin when the Chaldeans laid waste the city. Rebuilt by 
Joiada, the son of Phasea. 

I Porta Vallis ; through this were carried the corpses of those who were executed at Calvary ; con- 
structed by Iliinum on the return from Babylon ; afterwards called the Gulden Gate. 

§ Porta Stcrquilinii. 

|| Porta Fonti- ; rebuilt by Sclum, son of Choloza. 



56 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



tain of the Blessed Virgin ; and here again Nehemiah comes to our 
assistance.* 

If it be supposed that this gate derived its name from its vicinity to the 
Fountain of Gihon, it must be in a different quarter of the city, viz., the 
south-west. 

The Water Gate took its name from its use ; it being the port by which 
the water which served the Temple, and perhaps the whole city, was con- 
veyed into Jerusalem. The former seems to be indicated by the words of 
the Prophet we have just cited, in a passage which says that " the 
Nethenim," or Gibeontish water-drawers, "dwelt in Ophel unto the place 
over-against the water gate toward the east." 

The High Gate, which Jeremiah, xx. 2, places by the house of the Lord, 
was also called the gate of Benjamin, must be placed, by the same train of 
reasoning as we apply to the Ephraim Gate, towards the land of the tribe 
which gave it its name. 

The Gate of Judgment, used as a place of justice; this, however, did not 
lead out of the town. 

The Gate of the Corner, which derived its title from an angle formed by 
the wall at the south-west of the city. 

The present gates of Jerusalem are seven only in number. 

1. Bab el Kzalil, "the well beloved," which leads to Bethlehem, looking 
toward the west, also called the gate of Jaffa, as by it the pilgrims from 
Jaffa enter the city. 

2. Bab el Nabi Daoud, " the gate of the Prophet David," looks towards 
the south, and is in that part of the wall which passes over Mount Sion. 

3. Bab el Maugrabe, opposite the village of Siloam — : by this gate the 
Jews conducted Christ to Pilate from the garden ; at present it is closed. 

* " And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, and came before the Dragon Well, and to the 
dung port ; and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, how they were broken down, and the ports thereof de- 
voured with fire. Then I went forth unto the gate of the fountain, and to the king's fishpool."— ii. 13, 14. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



57 



4. Bab el Darahie, or " Golden Gate," leading to the mosque. The Turks 
keep it closed, in consequence of a prophecy which predicts that the 
Christians will take the city by this gate. It was here our Lord entered 
Jerusalem. 

5. Bab el Sidi Mariam, the gate of St. Mary — or el Setta Maria — 
coinciding with the ancient sheep gate : also called St. Stephen's gate, as 
near it was the scene of the protomartyr's death. 

6. Bab el Zahara, " the gate Am*ora," also called Herod's Gate ; looking 
north on the way to the grotto of Jeremiah, probably in the same spot as 
the Ephraim gate. 

7. Bab el Hamoud, " the gate of columns," also called " Bab el Sham," 
or Damascus gate; conducting to Naplous, the ancient Sichem. 

The extent of the walls is given by Maundrell, with his usual accuracy, 



as follows : 

PACES. 

" From Bethlehem Gate to the right hand corner 400 

From the corner to Damascus Gate 680 

From Damascus Gate to Herod's Gate 380 

From Herod's Gate to the prison of Jeremiah 150 

From Jeremiah's prison to the corner next the valley 

of Jchoshaphat 225 

From that corner to St. Stephen's Gate 385 

From St. Stephen's Gate to the Golden Gate 240 

From the Golden Gate to the corner of the wall 380 

From the corner to the Dung Gate 470 

From the Dung Gate to Sion Gate G05 

From Sion (late to the corner of the wall 215 

From the corner to Bethlehem Gate 500 

Total -4 030 



"The reduction of my paces to yards is by casting away a tenth part — 

i 



58 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SI\ r AI AND JERUSALEM. 



ten of my paces making nine yards ; by which reckoning, the 4630 paces 
amount to 4167 yards ; * which make it two miles and a half." 

The city may be roughly stated to be about a mile in length, and half a 
mile in breadth. Jerusalem is stated by some to have been built in the 
year of the world, 2023, by others the date is fixed 1991. by the high priest 
Melchisedec, who gave it the name Salem. This Salem,f or city of Mel- 
chisedec, was by no means of equal extent with Jerusalem in after-times ; 
but Jerusalem was no other than the city of Salem, adorned and beautified 
by David and his successors. " David went to Jerusalem, and took the 
stronghold of Zion ; and David dwelt in the fort and called it the city of 
David ; and David built round about from Millo and inward, and skilful 
carpenters and masons sent by Hiram, King of Tyre, built David an house." 
ii. Samuel, v. 6 — 1.1. 

The position of the city, as being surrounded by mountains, is of course 
of the greatest use in verifying the scenes described in Holy Writ. This 
part of the topography of Jerusalem has been so much and so learnedly 
discussed, and is, moreover, so much better presented to the eye of the 
inquirer by means of a map than by description, that it appears advisable 
to contract our remarks on this subject as much as possible. These valleys 
or ravines are on three sides, those on the east and south being of consider- 
able depth. The eastern valley is the valley of Jehoshaphat, and that on 
the south, the valley of Siloam. 

The hills on the opposite side of these valleys are much higher than the 
summits of Mount Sion or Acra. The Mount of Olives, called by the 
Arabs Dgebal Tor, commands the city on the east ; and what is called by 
the Christians the Mount of Evil Counsel and the Hill of Offence. 

The representation so common in Scripture of " the mountains being 
round Jerusalem," corresponds accurately to its actual topography. 

* Sir F. Henniker reckons the footpath outside the walls to be 5320 paces ; he performed the 
circuit in forty-five minutes, and estimates it at about three miles. 

f For a full account of this, consult Dr. Wells, vol. iii. chap. ii. p. 42. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



59 



On the 12th, I paid a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ; the 
interior of which is in miserable taste, though its very irregularity gave an 
air of picturesqueness to some of its most vicious barbarisms. 

The conflagration, of which I have given some account, is probably the 
cause of this deterioration. On entrance, our attention was first directed to 
a large flat stone, inserted in the pavement, surrounded by a rail, with lamps 
continually burning over it. This is said to be the stone on which the 
corpse of our Lord was placed during the process of its being washed and 
anointed for burial. Under the dome, in a considerable space enclosed by 
sixteen large columns, stands the Sepulchre ;* it is enclosed in a house of 
an oblong form, having one of its smaller faces rounded with little chapels 
for the use of those sects, viz., Copts, Abyssinians, Syrians, Maronites, &c, 
which do not possess large chapels in the body of the church, as the more 
powerful and numerous denominations of Roman Catholic, Greek, or 
Armenian monks. 

The opposite end of this oblong erection has a kind of platform, gained 
by a flight of steps, where I was shown a block of marble about a foot and 
a half square, on which the angel sat who communicated the resurrection 
to the two .Maries and Joanna. Having divested ourselves of our shoes and 
turbans, we entered, by a very low and narrow door, the Sepulchre itself. 

The tomb exhibited is a sarcophagus of bluish white marble, about six- 
feet one inch long, three feet broad, and two feet one inch deep. It is quite 
plain, without ornament of any kind, and appears to have suffered from 
exposure to the weather. 

There can be but little: doubt but that the tomb in which our Saviour 
was buried was of the kind in general use among the Jews since I lie 
earliest period, i.e. a simple excavation in the rock. 

* This is accurately called by Maundrell " a grotto above ground ; " having been originally a cave, 
and the rock surrounding it having been cut away level with the floor of the church, and leaving the 
cave with walls of sufficient thickness standing above the pavement. 

i 2 



60 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



The rocks in and around Jerusalem are invariably limestone of a hard 
and close texture; consequently the only method of accounting' for the 
authenticity of this sarcophagus, viz. by supposing it to have been after- 
wards bodily excavated from the surrounding- rock in which it was dug, is 
rendered inapplicable. Ravenous indeed must be the appetite, and undis- 
tinguishing- the taste, of the besotted pilgrims, who have continued to 
swallow for so long a time the " gross, open, palpable," fictions of the monks. 

The stone which was rolled to the mouth of the sepulchre was formerly 
shown, and held in great reverence ; but on examination we were informed 
that it is not the real stone, that having- been stolen by the Armenians — a 
fact which Maundrell mentions as having occurred only a short time 
before his visit to Jerusalem. This the said Armenians exhibit in a chapel 
on Mount Zion. Dr. Richardson mentions it as probable that the sarco- 
phagus called Screer Sidn Aisa, in the possession of the Turks, was 
originally shown as the tomb of our Saviour. 

The walls of this chamber are open to the same objection as the sarco- 
phagus itself, they not consisting- of the species of rock peculiar to the 
city ; these are of a kind of breccia. When a question respecting this in- 
consistency is put to the guide, which must, if coming from a true Catholic, 
savour somewhat of heretical incredulity, the conclusion is evaded by the 
affirmation that the wall now visible is only a kind of covering to protect 
the original rock* from injury. There can, however, be little doubt but 
that the whole structure is a work of masonry. 

We successively visited the chapel of " apparition,"! the Greek chapel, in 
the middle of which the Greeks have placed a globe, to mark the spot as 
the centre of the earth ; transferring the ridiculous superstition of their 
ancestors concerning Delphi, the Vp**°« to the city of David. 

* The external surface of the reck is cut, as Dr. Clarke expresses it, into the shape of a "huge 
pepperbox." 

f This spot is said to be the place where Christ appeared to the Virgin. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



61 



We proceeded by a narrow staircase to Calvary ; * where are exhibited 
the place where Christ was nailed to the cross, where it was erected, the 
hole in the rock in which the cross was inserted, and the place where 
the rock was rent.f All these are cased with a covering of marble, per- 
forated, however, over each spot. To add to the absurdity of the exhibi- 
tion, the holes of the three crosses are shown, so near to each other that 
they could by no means have been erected in the space ! Dr. Clarke calls 
this spot " a modern piece of masonry." 

The chapel of St. Helena is next visited, which stands over a kind of low- 
roofed cavern, in which the cross is reported to have been discovered. The 
search was instituted by the Empress, who visited Jerusalem at a very ad- 
vanced age. | Her method of prosecuting this search was characterized by 
the usual Christian charity and good sense of the period, and, by the happy ex- 
pedient of torturing the Jews, three crosses were " discovered ; " the true one 
being identified by its performing the miracle of raising a dead man to life.§ 

* Buckingham observes that Calvary is never designated in the gospels by any other name but 
" Two*," the plate of Calvary. It is singular that for a long period it has, without the slightest 
authority, been called the mount or hill of Calvary. The investigation of this point would be curious, 
and it would be interesting to fix the particular time when the expression was first applied to a spot 
which is most decidedly not mentioned as having been situated on a hill. 

t Near this is the place where the rock was rent asunder. Before the altar of the Latins in Calvary 
are ornaments in mosaic of different colours, the red predominating, to indicate that here our Lord 
shed his precious blood. 

\ According to the account of Theodoret, at the age of eighty. She found, he says, a temple of 
Venus occupying the spot where the Resurrection took place, which she would undoubtedly have con- 
verted into a Christian place of worship Theodoret, however, says that she ordered it to be thrown 
down. This statement does not tally with the passage of Jerome, who mentions, "That from the 
time of Hadrian to that of Constantine (about one hundred and eighty years intervening) an image of 
Jupiter marked the spot of the holy Sepulchre, and one of Venus [statua ex marmroe Veneris,) the site 
of the resurrection." Epistle to 1'aulinus de Institut. Monac. According to Dion Cassius, Hadrian 
built a city, &c, and " where the temple of God had been he erected a fane to Jupiter." 

§ It (the cross) is said to have healed several sick besides the ahove mentioned miracle The inscrip- 
tion, they tell you, was found with it. A portion of the true Cross the Empress -cut to her son. who 
placed it in his helmet. 



62 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



Two or three of the nails were found with it. The treasures of the Church 
of the Holy Sepulchre must at one period have been enormous. Among the 
nations and potentates who contributed to its wealth, the kings and 
pilgrims of Spain appear to take the foremost place. 

Isabella of Castile, besides an immense quantity of jewels, sent an 
annual contribution of a thousand dollars of gold, to be employed in 
charity. 

Philip II. sent some black velvet, upon which was embroidered, in fine 
pearls, a magnificent representation of the passion of our Lord, and of some 
of the principal saints and martyrs of the order of St. Francis. 

Philip III. and Queen Margaret, beside a variety of silver lamps, gave 
thirty thousand ducats. They say at the monastery that " his Catholic 
Majesty took Jerusalem for his Escurial, and that Queen Margaret was 
made Sacristan of the Holy Sepulchre. 

Philip IV. in 1628, sent thirty thousand ducats for the reparation of 
the Convent at Bethlehem; and in 1640 and 1652 the alms were so 
abundant that they said he deposited his treasures in the sepulchre of our 
Lord. 

With respect to the protection afforded to the Holy Sepulchre by the 
princes of Europe, even so late as 1516, only fifteen years before the 
Reformation, I will cite a letter written on parchment, now preserved in 
the Convent of St. Isidore at Rome. 

" Henry, by the grace of God, King of England and France, Lord of 
Ireland, to the venerable and religious monks, the father guardian and the 
friars of the holy order, who live near the sepulchre of our Lord most dear 
to us (literal) greeting. 

" The tender attachment with which, from our infancy, we have been 
inspired to the evangelical life which you lead, and your continual labours 
in the vineyard of our Lord, causes us to come to your assistance and 
succour, and to contribute to the support of the holy edifices; the rather 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



63 



that, with a zeal surpassing that of others, wherever you may be you make 
it your habitual occupation to receive pilgrims — to assist — to comfort 
them, and to exercise many other works of charity ; that you apply your- 
selves to adorn, to glorify by hymns and spiritual songs, and perpetual 
sacrifices of praise, the holy places, where, for our welfare, our Lord shed 
his blood, a manifest proof of our future resurrection ; and in short, 
that you have always to endure injuries, outrages, blows, wounds, and 
torments. 

" In consequence of this, and in order that you may be able to support 
less painfully these tribulations, and apply yourselves with more ardour to 
prayer and other good works, which will receive a rich reward in heaven ; 
you will preserve our remembrance. 

" We constitute and assign, by these presents, the annual alms of a 
thousand crowns of gold, or a sum equivalent, which is to last according 
to our grace and good pleasure; and by virtue of our ordinance you will 
begin to receive this our alms at Rhodes, after the approaching feast of 
Pentecost, from the hands of the Grand Master of Rhodes. 

" Also every following year after the said feast, always, as expressed 
above, according to our grace and good pleasure. 

" In short, you will go to the Grand Master of Rhodes, to whose good 
offices and kindness we have recourse for the payment of the same. 

" In faith and testimony of which alms, on our part, we have signed with 
our own hand these letters patent, and have placed thereto our private 
seal. 

"Given at our Palace at Greenwich, the 22nd of November, in the year 
of our Lord, 1516, and the 8th of our reign. 

" Henricus Rex. 

" Andreas Hammon." 



This document, the original of which is in Latin, by its dale. 



64 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



exhibiting- so great a proximity to the period of the Reformation, is 
extremely curious. 

But to return to the offerings in the church. There is a vestment for the 
priest; that part, I believe, of his paraphernalia called the "alb," which 
was worked and presented by the Empress Maria Theresa. 

Formerly the church of the Holy Sepulchre possessed two objects of 
legitimate curiosity more valuable than the places fixed by the monkish 
legends as the scenes of our Lord's actions and sufferings. These were 
the tombs of that " true and valiant knight and sage and puissant leader," 
Godfrey of Bouillon, and his brother Baldwin. 

Buckingham states that the Greeks destroyed them out of spite. They 
appear to have consisted of two stone coffins, or small sarcophagi, sup- 
ported, as often occurs in monuments erected in the times of chivalry, on 
four small pillars, and having a Latin inscription in Gothic characters. 
This latter ran thus : 

Hie. jacet. inclytvs. Dvx. Godefridvs. de. Bvlion. ; qvi. totam. istam. 
terram. acqvisivit. Cvltvi. Christiano. ; cvivs. anima. regnat. cvm. Christo. 
Amen. 

Rex. Baldvinvs. Jvdas. alter. Machaboevs., 
Spes. Patriae. Vigor. Ecclesiae. virtvs. vtrivsqve. 
Qvem. formidabant. cvi. dona, tributa. ferebant. 
Cedar, et. (Egyptvs. Dan. ac. homicida. Damascvs. 

Proh. Dolor. ! in. modico. clavditvr. hoc. Tvmvlo.* 
The sword and spurs of Godfrey are still exhibited. 

* " Here lyeth y e noble leader Godfrey de Bouillon, who gained all this land to y e Christian worship ; 
whose soul reigneth with Christ. Amen. 

King Baldwin, a second Judas Maccabseus, 

The hope of his country ; the strength of the church, the valour of both. 
Whom feared, and to whom brought gifts and tribute, 
Kedar and Egypt, Dan and fierce Damascus. 
Alas ! is in this little tomb enclosed. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



65 



In the afternoon I went to the place where Peter denied Christ, and also 
viewed the Sepulchre of David, at one time a Coptish church, but now in the 
hands of the Turks. Part of this building was formerly the Church of 
the Last Supper, and a room in the front of it is affirmed to be the identical 
scene of that event. Near this place is a Christian burying-ground, among 
the inscriptions in which I found a few in English ; one recording the death 
of an American of the name of Bradford, which took place a short time 
since in Jerusalem. I returned home by the Bethlehem gate. 

Illness imprisoned me during the whole of the 10th ; on the following- 
day I succeeded in getting out, and employed myself in making a sketch 
of the city from the Mount of Olives. 12th, still unwell ; I however went 
to see an Armenian procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but 
weakness obliged me to return home. On the 13th, I breakfasted with 
Yacoob, the young man who has the care of the rooms, and went to hear 
the afternoon service at the Catholic chapel, my indisposition still imposing 
on me a restraint which the reader may conceive was, under the circum- 
stances, almost intolerable. 

Next day I employed in sketching the mosque near the Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre, but was obliged to leave off early by the increasing 
inconvenience of an attack of inflammation, which did not permit me to 
leave the house for the four succeeding clays. On the morning of the 20th, 
passing out of the Bethlehem Gate I visited the valley of Hinnom. This 
valley is placed by Pococke to the south of the city, but he thinks it might 
include part of that on the east : it formed part of the boundary between 
the possessions of Benjamin and those of Judah.* 

I made a sketch of the valley of Jchoshaphat,f which lies on the cast 

* '* Also this border gocth up to the top of the mountnin, that licth before the valley of llinnom, 
•westward ; which is by the end of the valley of the Giants northward." — Joshua, xv. 8. 

(■ " It is a rocky flat, interspersed by a few patches of earth, extending in breadth from Kedron to 
Mount Olivet, a distance of about half a mile, and nearly of the same length from Siloa to the garden 

K 



66 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



side of Jerusalem, as also the village of Siloe. In the afternoon I went to 
the Via Dolorosa, and made a sketch of the old building opposite the 
governor's house, said to be the place where Christ was scourged. The 
sunset was accompanied by a tolerably heavy fall of rain. 

21st. I made a sketch of the Pool of Bethesda,* which is a deep hollow 
on the north side of the great mosque, and near St. Stephen's Gate. In 
the afternoon I made a view of that part of the Via Dolorosa from which 
you are informed the celebrated Scala Santa at Rome was taken. 

On the 22nd, pursued my sketching near the mosque on Mount Sion, 
after which I rode to the Damascus gate, and round to St. Anne's church ; 
from a point near which I made a view of the mosque in another direction. 

23rd. Went to a monument called the pillar of Absalom ; it stands in 
the valley of Jehoshaphat, the lower part having been excavated from the 
rock, while the structure was still farther raised by masonry. Of this I 
took a coloured view. 

Next day, having risen early, I employed myself in sketching Mount 
Sion, and the valley of Hinnom, where the Israelites sacrificed their 
children to Moloch ; here are caves in great numbers, the soil being rocky ; 
from hence I proceeded to ride round the walls of Jerusalem, and found the 
route very hilly. The walls in many parts have remains of ancient stone- 
work, most probably to be attributed to the Romans. The front of the 
Damascus gate is not a bad architectural design. 

On the 25th, I prepared to make a view (from the south side, and beyond 

of Gethsemane." Jeremiah calls it the valley of the Son of Hinnom, or the Valley of Tophet. "And 

go forth into the valley of Ben-Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate. Therefore behold 

the days come, saith the Lord, that this place shall be no more called Tophet, nor the valley of Ben 
Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter." — Jeremiah, xix. 2 — 6. The Jews still fancy that this valley will 
be the scene of the last judgment. Vide Joel, iii. 12. 

* Pococke says that this pool was probably the same as that which Nehemiah calls the pool that was 
made, and which Josephus calls the Pool of Solomon. " When we were there, a tanner made no 
scruple to dress his hides in it " — Maundrell. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



67 



the walls of the city) of part of the great mosque, but a rising of the 
Sirouc wind soon put an end to my attempt, and drove me home, where I 
spent the rest of the day in all the languor and headache which it produced. 
A night's rest having in some measure relieved me from the effects of the 
sickening wind, I visited, on the following morning, the village of Bethany, 
about an hour's journey from Jerusalem. Leaving St. Stephen's gate, we 
passed the Mount of Olives, and in a short time obtained a sight of this 
interesting spot. It stands on the side of a hill, which is crowned by an 
old ruin called the Castle of Lazarus. 

Tt is a poor and mean village, nor does the surrounding land give much 
indication of culture. I was struck, on inquiring the name of the place, at 
being answered, " Lazaria." They show here the tomb of Lazarus,* which 
I cannot better illustrate than by the words of Maundrell. " At the bottom 
of a small descent, not far from the castle, is shown the sepulchre out of 
which he (Lazarus) was raised to a second mortality by that enlivening 
voice of Christ, 'Lazarus, come forth.' " You descend into the sepulchre 
by twenty-five steep steps. By the miserable light with which the guide 
furnished me, I concluded that this chamber was constructed, and not 
excavated. 

Returning to Jerusalem, I made a sketch in the Via Dolorosa, near 
the governor's house, shown as the spot where Pilate presented our 
Lord to the Jews, in these mystical words, " Behold the man ! " Here 
is also a small chapel, where they tell you Christ was crowned with 
thorns. 

On the 27th, I made a drawing of the Mount of Olives from the Golden 
Gate, formerly an entrance into King Solomon's Temple ; but now almost 
entirely blocked up. 

On the succeeding morning I revisited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre : 

• The monks show also the house of Simon the leper, of Mary Magdalene, and of Martha : also the 
fit,' tree which our Lord cursed ! 



68 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 

also examined an ancient building' formerly in the possession of the Knights 
of St. John, situated at a short distance from the church, at present used 
as a tanyard. In this I measured some details, particularly a small 
doorway leading to a cloister. I was so fortunate to-day as to obtain 
admission into the court surrounding the great mosque, and commenced 
assisting Mr. Catherwood in making measurements of its plan. 

29th. Began a view of the ruined Gothic church of St. Anne,* but was 
compelled by illness to return home, where I suffered a smart attack of 
ague and fever in the afternoon. Finding myself much better on the 
following morning, 1 attempted to go to the Holy Sepulchre, but was 
almost immediately compelled to retura by a chilliness which was the 
usher of a second fit of ague. 

On the 31st I remained at home, and, by dosing myself liberally with 
quinine, succeeded in preventing a recurrence of the fever. 

On the 1st of November I rode out in the morning, and measured part 
of the masonry at the south-east corner of the wall ; and took some of the 
proportions of the Pillar of Absalom. f Passing through the valley of 
Jehoshaphat, we were shown what is called the Fountain of Siloam. It 
consists of a small tank of water, to which the descent is by a few steps, 
and which is covered by a Gothic arch. In the afternoon, I finished a 
doorway, and measured a small Saracenic window in the tanyard near the 
Holy Sepulchre. 

A heavy and continued fall of rain on the 2nd precluding outdoor 
investigation, I commenced a view of the Holy Sepulchre from the altar of 
the Greek church; in addition to the lamps constantly burning above it, I 
observed before the entrance several huge candles, presented by the various 
sects and nations of the worshippers. The monks of the Latin convent 

* Here is shown the birthplace of the Virgin. 

t Respecting this interesting structure, vide Maundrell — Chateaubriand, vol. ii. p. 100 — also 
Pococke, Book i. 6. 





THK PMLIL.A1R. OF ABSALOM. 3 E RTU SAIL KM . 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



69 



reside in rotation three months each in the church. Returned home about 
3 p. m., when I was favoured with a visit from Mr. Nicolayson, a mis- 
sionary, and resident at Jerusalem. 

Went out early on the following morning (3rd) to the east, or Mount Sion 
side of the wall of Jerusalem, and also near the Golden Gate, in order 
to obtain a view of the Mount of Olives ; went on with the measurement 
of the great mosque the whole of the day following. 

5th and 6th. I was fully employed in sketching various points in the Via 
Dolorosa, and measuring the mosque. The next day I made a drawing of 
the Church of the Purification,* and, in the early part of the afternoon, 
having made some measurements, was shown by a dervish into the prin- 
cipal mosque. The several objects of curiosity or superstition, the stone 
of Mahomet, that of David, and the place where is the entrance to hell, were 
exhibited to us. 

Dr. Richardson's full and interesting account of the interior of this 
magnificent mosque, which he made under the most favourable circum- 
stances, renders any enumeration of particulars which I could make 
superfluous. Hardly any avowed Christians but ourselves had ever been 
admitted within these walls. The enterprising and learned traveller to 
whom I have just referred was indebted to his character of physician for 
his admission into this St. Peter's of Mohammedanism. 

On the 8th, I made a drawing of the Pool of Siloam, which is situated 
under the village of Siloe. I also measured the tomb of Zacharias, and 
that other sepulchre near it, ornamented with Doric columns, the whole, 
together with the columns, hewn out of the rock. 

In the afternoon I made a drawing of the supposed residence of Dives in 
the parable; but was much inconvenienced by the cold wind. 

9th. Made a general view of the interior of the mosque, and took some 

* The Mosque el Aksa. A narrow aisle on the right, off the body of the church, is shown as the 
place where the Virgin presented our Saviour. 



70 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 

bearings of the walls. In the afternoon, went on with the plan of the 
Church of the Purification. 

On the following- day, made a view from the mosque of the Porta Aurea, 
apparently a gate of the Temple, built by Herod. Coloured a view of the 
mosque, and finished the plan of the church. 

11th. In the morning, I began a section of the great mosque, which is 
covered with gilded ornaments. The rock in the centre of the dome still 
remains, and is surrounded by beautiful marble columns. I also began the 
elevation. The face of the building is covered with a kind of Dutch tile, 
which produces a surprising richness of effect. This facing of tiles is on 
the western side very imperfect, great numbers of them having fallen out. 
An Arabic inscription runs round the octagon, and another round the 
dome. Mr. Catherwood and myself took some heights with the sextant ; 
after which we ascended the dome. This is gained by a bad and very 
dark staircase. The dome itself is double, there being a space of about 
three feet between the two shells. The interior is richly gilded. The 
construction appears extremely good. The windows beneath the dome are 
double, having tiles on the outside, and painted glass within. 

12th. At the mosque in the morning, sketching some details for the 
sections, and also measuring the plan. 

English Feet. . 

The diameter of the dome is 66 

One of the sides of the octagon .... 67 
Height of the spring 67 

This is a remarkably curious coincidence. 

We left the mosque at noon, and went to draw at the Porta Aurea, where 
I made a section. 

Returning to the mosque after the prayer was over, I employed myself 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 71 

in measuring the Sacred Chamber, into which even Dr. Richardson* 
was not admitted ; it is under the rock in the centre of the dome. 

13th. A cold and rainy morning preventing us from going to the 
mosque, we called upon Mr. Nicolayson ; but the weather clearing up 
a little towards the middle of the day, I left Jerusalem, accompanied by 
my two friends, Messrs. Catherwood and Bonomi, for Bethlehem. 

* " Into this excavation I never was admitted, although I was four times in the mosque, and went 
there twice with the express assurance that I should be shown into it. However, when I arrived, the 
key was always wanting ; and when the keeper of it was sought he never could be found." — Richardson. 



72 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Convent of St. Elias — Sepulchre of Rachel — Bethlehem — Convent of the Nativity 
— Church of the Empress Helena — Chapel of St. Catharine — Grotto of the 
Nativity — The Manger — Choir and Transepts of the Church — Tomb of St. Jerome 
— Population, &c. of Bethlehem — Gardens of Solomon — Pools — Solomon's Castle 
— Fountain — Aqueduct — Return to Jerusalem — Mosque— The Foot of Mahomet — 
Mahomet's Shield — Arrival of the Marquis of Waterford — Court of Sakhara 
— Desert of the Temptation — Quarantania — View of the Dead Sea — Fountain of 
Elisha — Jericho — History — House of Zaccheus — Dangerous Neighbourhood — 
Parable of the Good Samaritan — Arrival at the Jordan — Size and Rapidity — 
Double Bank — Dead Sea— Salt — Buoyancy of the Water — Analysis— Conjectures 
respecting its Origin — Volcanic — Bituminous — Fetid Limestone — Nitre — Destruc- 
tion of Sodom and Gomorrah — Return to Jerusalem — Greek Marriage — The 
Mosque El Aksoor — Wooden Pulpit — Sadha Aisa — Rainy Season Commences — 
Dome of El Aksoor — Porta Aurea — Prevented from Going to Bethlehem — Return 
to Bethlehem — Disappointed in Going to Hebron — Return to Jerusalem — Prepar- 
ing for a Journey to Nablous — Arrangement with Arab. 

We had scarcely started before we encountered a heavy shower of rain ; 
but, continuing our journey across the Valley of Rephim, we arrived in 
about an hour and a quarter at the Convent of St. Elias, from whence 
there is a view both of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. A small building-, 
crowned with a dome, is shown as the sepulchre of Rachel, and in about 
three quarters of an hour we reached the Convent of the Nativity, which 
occupies a considerable part of the village.* The place is situated on the 

* The name Bethlehem, or, as written in Scripture, Beth-Lechem, was given hy Abraham, and 
signifies " House of Bread;" also called Ephrata, or prolific. To this signification alludes St. Paul, 
who, on his arrival, cries, " Je te salue, Bothleem, toi vraie maison de pain, ou naquit le pain descendu 
du ciel; je te salue, Ephrata, feconde contree ou Dieu a pris naissance." There are two Bethlehems ; 
this having the above titles to distinguish it from the other, or Bethlehem of Zabulon. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



73 



ridge of a hill which forms the southern side of a valley of considerable 
depth and extent, running from east to west. 

A spot seen from the road is one of the many places which the monks 
affirm to be the scene of the angelic annunciation of our Lord's birth to the 
shepherds. 

On first entering the town, I was much struck with the beauty of four 
rows of Corinthian columns,* the remains of the nave of the church built 
by the Empress Helena. The transept and choir are hidden by a wall, and 
are parted off for the use of the Greek and Armenian churches. 

We were without delay presented to the Superior, a fat, jolly-looking 
monk, who showed us into our apartments, and soon provided us with an 
excellent supper, two of the monks being admitted to join in the agreeable 
conversation which ensued. 

On rising early the following morning, (the 14th), I was presented with 
the delightful prospect of a fine day, the rain appearing to have exhausted 
itself. After taking some bread and coffee, and completing our meal with 
the indispensable pipe, we proceeded to view the curiosities of this inter- 
esting place. 

The Latin church, called the chapel of St. Catharine, is a miserable 
building, from whence I descended some steps into the holy spot celebrated 
as the birth-place of our Saviour. It is a small grotto in the rock, brilliantly 
illuminated : a silver star, with a Latin inscription : " Hie de Virgine Maria, 
Jesus Christus natus est," marks the spot where this great event actually 
occurred ; not many feet from this, and down two or three steps, is the 
" manger," a block of marble raised a little from the floor, and hollowed 

1 ? 

* There are forty-eight of these columns, ranged in four rows, eacli column hcing two feet six 
inches in diameter, and eighteen in height. 

" As the roof of the nave is wanting, the columns support nothing hut a wooden frieze. Open 
timherwork rests on the walls, rising into the form of a dome to support a roof which no longer exists, 
and most probahly was never finished." — Chateaubriand's Travels, Vol. i., p. 393. 

L 



74 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



out into something of the form of a manger ; before it is the altar of the 
Magi. The whole of this singular scene is invested in a perpetual blaze 
of light, poured from thirty-two lamps, presented by various Christian 
potentates Over the altars I observed two good paintings, of the Spanish 
school. 

" The usual ornaments of the manger," says Chateaubriand, " are of blue 
satin, embroidered with silver." 

The Sanctuary of the Nativity belongs to the Greeks ; the cradle and 
the place of adoration of the Magi to the Catholics. In the bottom of the 
cradle is a picture in a silver frame, representing the Adoration of the 
Shepherds. The rock is generally covered ; but on Christmas day it is 
exposed to the veneration of the Faithful. 

From this place a flight of steps led me into the choir and transepts of 
the ancient church, now occupied by the Greeks and Armenians. I was 
also shown the sepulchre and school of St. Jerome, and the cave which re- 
ceived the bodies of the murdered Innocents. 

The remains, however, of the Saint were transported to Rome. He is 
reported to have passed a great part of his life here, and to have here 
translated that version of the Bible now recognised by the church of Rome, 
under the title of the Vulgate. He died a. d. 422, aged about 91.* 

The number of inhabitants in Bethlehem is fixed at about three hun- 
dred, nearly all of whom are supported by the manufacture of beads, cru- 
cifixes, and other consecrated toys, for which there is a great demand 
among the pilgrims. 

The monks claim the privilege of marking the limbs or bodies of the 
pilgrims with crosses, stars, and other devices, by stamping them, pricking 
the outline with a needle, and then rubbing the punctures with gunpowder 

* The tomb also of Eusebius is shown here, as well as those of St. Paula and her son Eustachius. 
The lady founded or endowed several monasteries in the neighbourhood, all of which are, however, 
in ruins. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



75 



and wine ; a custom undoubtedly extremely ancient, and still kept up in 
barbarous perfection among sailors of all countries. Being anxious to 
visit the Pools of Solomon, we quitted the convent a little before 10 a.m.. 
and, descending a hill by a very indifferent road, we soon entered a fertile 
valley, which is said to have been part of the far-famed garden, or Para- 
dise, as the Persians call it, of that monarch. It is watered in various 
directions by a great number of rivulets, and one of its sides is formed by 
the ruins of a village. In about an hour and twenty minutes, we reached 
the lowest cistern, which was filled with water, and of great extent, but 
bearing no marks of fine workmanship in the masonry ; even the side of 
the hill not being cut away square to give it a regular form. I found, on 
measurement, its length to be five hundred and ninety-six feet, its breadth 
two hundred and ten feet, and its present depth thirty feet. At about 
one hundred feet from this, and perhaps forty feet higher, is another pool, 
and at nearly the same distance and height is a third. These pools are 
placed at the end of a small valley to the south, and, as is evident from their 
construction, were thus situated that each might receive the superfluous 
waters of the one next above it. 

" They are," says Dr. Richardson, " like most Jewish works, remarkable 
rather for solidity than beauty." 

They are all, as Maundrell reports, " lined with wall, and plastered, 
and contain a great depth of water." 

Near the highest pool is a square building, called Solomon's Castle, but 
undoubtedly of much later construction : this Maundrell calls a " pleasant, 
castle," which would lead us to suspect that it was in his time in better 
repair than at present. We next visited the springs which supply these 
magnificent reservoirs. They are under vaulted chambers. 

" At about the distance of one hundred and forty paces from them, (' the 
Pools,') is the fountain from which principally they derive their waters." 
These the monks will have to be that "Sealed Fountain " to which the 



76 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



holy spouse is compared : Song of Solomon, iv., 12. ; and they pretend that 
he shut them up, having placed his seal on the door. " Nor was it diffi- 
cult," says our traveller, " to secure them ; they rising under ground and 
having no avenue but by a little hole like to the mouth of a narrow well ; 
through this hole you descend, but not without some difficulty, for about 
four yards, and then arrive in a vaulted room fifteen paces long, and eight 
broad. Joining to this is another room of the same fashion, but somewhat 
less. Both these rooms are covered with handsome stone arches, very 
ancient, and perhaps the work of Solomon himself. 

" You find here four places at which the water rises ; from these separate 
sources it is conveyed by little rivulets, into a kind of basin, and from 
thence is carried, by a large subterraneous passage, down into the Pools. 
In the way, before it arrives at the Pools, there is an aqueduct of brick 
pipes, which receives part of the stream, and carries it, after many turnings 
and windings about the mountains, to Jerusalem."* This Garden of 
Solomon is supposed to be the Etham of the bible : Josephus, Lib. viii., 
cap. 7. The Talmudists, (vide Pococke), and many passages in Scripture, 
Chron. II., xi., 6, and Eccles. ii., 5, 6, &c, &c, combine to fix this as 
really the place where the son of David made "pleasant gardens," and 
formed an aqueduct to carry water to Jerusalem. This Etham, or Epham, 
is mentioned conjunctively with Bethlehem and Tekoa as one of the cities 
of Rehoboam. 

Following the course of the water-channel, which passes to Bethlehem, 
we returned to the convent, after an absence of three hours ; when we 
dined and left for Jerusalem. 

15th. Early this morning I resumed the employment which had been 
interrupted by our visit to the place of our Lord's Nativity, and proceeded 
in the measurement of the great mosque. After taking some heights with 
the sextant for the section of the dome, I went on with the drawings of the 

* Maundiell, p. 89. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



77 



various details : and, among other objects, sketched the box, or altar, in 
which is preserved the print of Mahomet's foot. This no one is permitted 
to see, though the pious stranger may put his hand into a hole in the 
wood, and feel, or fancy he feels, the impression ; after which he generally 
strokes his face and beard with the sanctified hand. 

On the following morning (16th) we returned to the mosque and made 
numerous sketches, among others, one of Mahomet's shield, a huge round 
stone of a dark colour. It is attached at a considerable height to the 
side of one of the square columns. This the Prophet is reported to have 
carried on his arm in battle ! in proof of which the Turks point out a 
fracture in the middle, caused, they say, by a blow aimed at its bearer by 
an Infidel. 

I then ascended the staircase, and attempted to copy the ornament on 
the dome, but found the task extremely impracticable, from the intricacy 
of the design. I succeeded, however, much better with the ornamented 
tile work immediately under the dome, and also the various patterns on 
the face of the octagon. By making these drawings I furnished myself with 
sufficient materials for an accurate elevation or section of this interesting 
structure, to be made on a future occasion. On returning to the convent 
we found that the Marquis of Waterford and his companions, Sir William 
Geary and Mr. Bagot, had just arrived. They passed the evening with us: 
the mutual exchange of news and information, when first meeting our 
countrymen in a foreign land, is always extremely delightful. 

17th. Engaged during the whole day with Mr. Cathcrwood in measur- 
ing the plan of the platform, in t lie centre of which stands the Sakhara, 
or principal mosque. 

18th. Again busily employed with my companion in measuring the 
several places of interest about the magnificent Stoa Sakhara, a labour 
which consumed the following day also. We obtained the proportions of 
the gateways, and the plan of the schools, oratories, &c, which surround 



78 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



the mosque. At the principal of these schools we were most politely 
and hospitably received by the master, who showed the greatest willing- 
ness to gratify our curiosity by showing us the whole of the building, and 
afterwards entertained us with pipes and coffee. The following day being 
fixed for a visit to Jericho, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea ; about noon the 
whole party, consisting of the Marquis, Sir W. Geary, Mr. Bagot, and 
ourselves, set out from Jerusalem. Descending the opposite side of Mount 
Olivet, we proceeded along a valley for about three miles and a half, and 
then turning to the north we again began to ascend a rugged and moun- 
tainous tract of country of a most sterile and dreary appearance. 

It is in this rocky solitude that the scene of Our Lord's Temptation has 
generally been fixed ; the " exceeding high mountain," from the summit 
of which Satan showed Christ the kingdoms of all the world, is called 
Quarantania.* In the valley on the left Maundrell describes the remains 
of many huts and grottoes, to which the devotees retired to imitate the 
fasting and penance of our Saviour. 

From the summit of these desolate mountains we obtained a most 
magnificent view of the Dead Sea, the mountains of Arabia, and the level 
of Jericho. 

Entering the plain, we observed a ruined convent, near which some 
remains of an aqueduct might still be traced ; and shortly after " the 
fountain of Elisha " was pointed out to us, supposed to be the spring whose 
water the Prophet, at the prayer of the inhabitants of Jericho, purged 
from its saltness. 2 Kings, ii., 19. 

About a quarter of an hour's journey beyond this fountain is Jericho, 
a miserable and filthy Arab village. The ancient Jericho was built by 
the Jebusites, and was the first Canaanitish town of which the Israelites, 
under Joshua, made conquest. 

* Probably so called from our Lord's fasting forty days among these mountains. — Luke, iv. 2. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



79 



The gold, silver, and copper, having been previously purified, were dedi- 
cated to the Lord ; the men and animals were destroyed, excepting only 
the family of Rahab. Joshua caused the town to be pronounced anathema : 
and cursed all who might venture to rebuild it. This was attempted by 
an Idolater of Bethel, named Hiel, who was punished with the death of 
all his children. 

Jericho was embellished by the last Kings of Judah, and Herod of 
Ascalon built a palace here, and made it his residence. 

There was also in the reign of Vespasian an amphitheatre here. Antony 
gave the place as an inheritance to Cleopatra. The only remains now 
existing of its former importance can be seen in a tower at present the 
residence of the governor. 

We put up for the night at the house of the Sheikh, in a place which for 
dirt and discomfort exceeded all that I had yet seen. The apartment 
consisted of four bare walls, hardly roofed over, of which some horses at 
the time were enjoying the possession. 

Maundrell mentions his having been shown the house of Zaccheus, which 
he describes as an old square building, on the south side of the village. 

The whole vicinity of Jericho has a character infamous for robbery and 
murder. Indeed the place where the scene is laid of the parable of the Good 
Samaritan is still pointed out, indicating that this tract of country has, 
from the time of the New Testament, kept up its reputation for danger. 

No spot could be selected more adapted to a scene of blood ; the parched 
and sterile appearance of the inhospitable soil, the numerous caves 
formed by nature to conceal the robber, and the general savageness and 
desolation of the prospect, all contribute to the unpleasant impression 
which it makes upon the traveller. Sir Frederick llcnnikcr had a narrow 
escape here, having been stripped and sorely wounded by the Arabs, and 
left for dead. 

At about a quarter before ten on the following morning (the 2Jst) we 



80 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 

quitted this village for the Jordan, and, after an hour and a quarter's tole- 
rably hard riding over the plain, we reached the thickets on its banks, 
which are generally overgrown with a variety of trees and underwood. 
This celebrated river rolls rapidly by its banks, and loses itself in the Dead 
Sea. At the point where we joined it, it seemed twenty yards across. 

In spite of the various and inconsistent accounts respecting the rapidity 
of the stream, some affirming that no person could possibly swim across, 
others that its rate was only two miles per hour, the Marquis of Water- 
ford performed this without difficulty. At its mouth an expert swimmer, 
who accompanied Mr. Jolliffe, found it impossible to swim across. Dr. Shaw 
describes it as not more than thirty yards over, and that it runs about two 
miles an hour ; this, however, is at some distance from its mouth, and at 
the spot where the pilgrims bathe. " The water," says Maundrell, " was 
very turbid and too rapid to be swam against. For its breadth, it might 
be twenty yards over, and in depth it far exceeded my height." 

There appears to be, in most parts of the river, what may be called a 
double bank, the outermost or true bank forming a descent, above which 
the stream seldom or never swells ; below this is a flat space, covered with 
jungle and marshy, the edge of which is in contact with the stream; this 
latter bank is, of course, subject to inundation, and from the immense 
thickness of its vegetation affords a favourite shelter to animals of prey. 
The occasional expulsion of these animals by the swelling of the river gives 
an excellent exposition of the celebrated passage of Jeremiah, xlix., 19: 
" Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan ;" the same 
allusion again occurs in chap. iv. 7, of the same Prophet. In India, a country 
exposed to periodical rains more violent than those of the climate of Pales- 
tine, vast numbers of tigers, buffaloes, and other wild animals, are driven, 
by the rising of the rivers, from the marshy banks and islands of mud. — 
Vide Williamson's Oriental Sports. 

After remaining here an hour, we proceeded towards the Dead Sea. Our 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



81 



path lay over loose ground, strongly impregnated with salt ; so rotten 
indeed was the soil that the horses sank nearly up to their knees at every 
step. After toiling slowly along for an hour and a half, we arrived at 
the shore of the Dead Sea. 

An immense quantity of timber of various sizes encumbered the space 
between the water's edge and the line of a previous inundation. 

Our first impulse was to ascertain the truth or falsehood of the innume- 
rable and wonderful peculiarities which we had heard these waters pos- 
sessed ; we immediately waded in, and were delighted to find the marvellous 
relations respecting the unusual power of buoyancy completely verified. 
This was sufficient entirely to support our weight, without the slightest 
exertion of strength or skill. 

The peculiarity of these waters has been much exaggerated both in 
ancient and comparatively modern times. Pliny asserts that living bodies 
could not sink in it, and Strabo affirms that it supports a man as high as 
the middle. Vespasian, according to Josephus, caused some persons who 
were unable to swim to be thrown in with their hands tied, but they all 
floated. Maundrell tried it, and confirms the fact of the extraordinary buoy- 
ancy, but, of course, not the extent asserted by the ancients. Pocockeadds 
his testimony to the power with which he was supported, though, as he 
says, he remained in the shallow parts near the bank, without venturing 
far into the deeps, where in all probability the effect would be still more 
powerful. 

There is a vulgar notion among the Arabs that the water would consume 
the body of any person rash enough to attempt to swim across ; nor is 
this supposed burning property obnoxious to human flesh alone, but to 
wood and iron, for they say that the same would happen to boats, of which 
there is not one on the lake. The only traveller of any late period who 
does not confirm the extreme buoyancy of the water is Mr. .Jolliffe, who 
describes it as but little more dense than that of the sea generally. That 

M 



82 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



gentleman, however, was prevented, by the impatience of the Arabs, from 
going any distance from the shore ; and the beach slopes so gradually that 
it is necessary to wade an hundred yards and upwards to go out of one's 
depth. We found the water as bitter and as painful to the eyes as it is 
generally reported to be. 

Numerous chemists have analysed this water, and have given different, 
and in some cases inconsistent, proportions of its ingredient parts. The 
investigation, however, carried on by the accurate Dr. Marcet, is, I believe, 
published in the Philosophical Transactions of 1807. He determines 
the specific gravity of this fluid to be 1211, which bears to the specific 
gravity of water the proportion of 1211 : 1000. This density is greater 
than that of any water which is produced by natural means. 

His analysis is as follows. The proportions are taken to 100 grains of 
the water : — 





Grains. 




3.92 




.. 10.246 




10.36 




.054 


Sum 


. . ' 24.58 



Thus this singular water contains nearly one fourth of its weight in Salt. 

The conjectures made for the purpose of reconciling the present ap- 
pearance and singular peculiarities of this wonderful collection of water, 
with the scriptural account of its origin, are many and ingenious. 

No reason can be given for the excess of saline matter in its composition 
but that which refers to this account. 

Chateaubriand deprecates, and with apparent reason, the supposition 
that this basin is the crater of an extinct volcano. This, he says, has none 
of the distinctive and universal peculiarities which he had observed in 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



83 



Vesuvius, Solfaterra, Monte Nuovo, the Peak of the Azores, the Mamalif, 
opposite to Carthage, &c, in all of which " I observed," he says, " the 
same characters, that is to say, mountains excavated in the form of a 
funnel, lava, and ashes, which exhibited incontestable proofs of the agency 
of fire." This traveller seems inclined to agree in the ingenious conjecture 
of Michaelis, who supposes that Sodom and Gomorrah were built on a 
mine of bitumen, into which, when blazing from the effect of lightning, the 
fated cities sank. 

There is another most acute conjecture of a French philosopher, M. Malte 
Brun, I believe, that the walls of these cities were themselves constructed 
with bituminous stone, and ignited by fire from heaven. 

The Mosaic account, too, Gen. xiv., 3, 10 — " All these were joined together 
in the Vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea." "Now the Vale of Siddim 
was full of slime pits." 

This bitumen is found in great abundance in the lake, from the bottom 
of which it rises in large masses to the surface, where it explodes with 
a great deal of smoke. The black fetid limestone, of which there is doubt- 
less an immense stratum, gives, on burning, the true bituminous smell. The 
fetor of it is to be attributed to an impregnation of sulphureted hydrogen. 

The bitumen of the lake, which is more plentiful after high winds, is 
collected by the Arabs, and from the most ancient periods has been sold 
for medical purposes. The monks of the Latin Convent at Jerusalem keep 
quantities of the water and the bitumen of the Dead Sea in jars, and 
highly esteem it as an article of pharmacy. Pliny's assertion that it was 
used by the Egyptians in the preparation of their mummies has been 
repeatedly confirmed by the subsequent examination of those singular 
remains. 

It being dangerous, however, and heterodox, to sit down satisfied with 
a natural explanation of a phenomenon which we arc expressly told. Gen. 
xix., 24, was produced by miraculous agency, we may easily suppose that 

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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



the " shower of brimstone and fire from heaven " was accompanied by a 
volcanic or bituminous eruption from the vast storehouse of inflammable 
and explosive matter which is undoubtedly accumulated beneath this soil. 

In fact, to add confirmation to this supposition, all travellers have united 
in describing the immense quantity of nitre in the neighbouring hills, 
which, by the aid of a thunder-storm, might readily be conceived the instru- 
ments of the terrible vengeance of Heaven. 

Having examined, with as much accuracy as our time would allow, this 
wonderful lake, we returned to the village, which was situate about an 
hour and a half s journey from the Dead Sea. 

22nd. We proceeded back to Jerusalem, starting at a quarter past ten, 
and soon re-passed the road by which we came on this expedition. We 
began to perceive, with considerable relief, the change in the atmosphere, 
from the foggy, close temperature which always prevails in the lower 
plains. Our route lay on a continual ascent, the whole distance to Jeru- 
salem, where we arrived in six hours from the time of our departure. 

Having dined with the Marquis and his companions, about 10 in the 
evening we went to see a Greek marriage. The bridegroom, clothed in 
red, was accompanied from his house by a procession, holding candles, and 
followed by all his female friends singing, or rather screaming, a kind of 
epithalamium. Presently after came the bride, covered with a red veil, 
and supported on each side by a female attendant. She was followed, 
like her future husband, by a train of women, exercising their lungs in the 
same harmonious and edifying manner. They then proceeded to a chapel 
adjoining the church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the service was begun ; 
here, however, the bridegroom only was present. After remaining half an 
hour, and understanding that the ceremony would still last twice that time, 
I took my departure, it being then midnight. 

23rd. I went to the mosque El Aksoor, and proceeded with my drawing 
of the pulpit. At noon a shower of rain fell, which settled into a confirmed 



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85 



wet day. Made a section with Mr. Catherwood ; measured a doorway 
under the Aksoor, apparently an entrance to the temple, and of the same 
date as the Porta Aurea, though by no means so rich in design. 

On the morning of the 24th, the rainy season seeming to have decid- 
edly set in, we returned to the mosque, where we were obliged to work 
under cover, at the south-east angle. Having procured the key, we 
descended into the place of Sardha Aisa, a sort of small chapel. From 
this place we entered upon a considerable extent of ground, covered by the 
present level of the mosque, the floor of which is supported by square piers 
bearing arches, one hundred and thirty in number, apparently of very 
ancient workmanship, and probably the remains of the Court of the Temple 
built by Herod. 

Returning to the mosque. I went on with my drawing of the wooden 
pulpit till about an hour before sunset, when the rain caused the interior 
of the building to be so dark that I was obliged to give it up. 

25th. This morning I finished my drawings of the Aksoor, concluding 
with the decorations of the dome, which I thought finer than that of the 
Sakhara, as it possesses greater variety of colour. Finished the wooden 
pulpit, and made a slight sketch of an ornamental border of some pannels 
in the church. Measured some mouldings at the Porta Aurea, and after, 
taking the dimensions of a small well and fountain in the court, I left the 
mosque, cold, wet, and heartily tired with my occupation. 

26th. Called in the morning upon Mr. Nicolayson, and was prevented 
from going during the morning to Bethlehem, as I had intended, by i he 
badness of the weather and a slight attack of illness. This visit we 
postponed till the next day, when, accompanied by Mr. Catherwood. 1 left 
Jerusalem, and arrived at our journey's end at 4 o'clock, when we were 
regaled by the monks with an excellent supper. 

On the 27th, we again visited some of the places described in a former 
chapter, and extended our walk to the environs of the village, the soil of 



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which is naturally very unproductive, and which the indolent character of 
the people does not tend to improve. 

On the 28th, I began to measure the church of the convent built by the 
Empress Helena. The painting in mosaic, above the columns, is almost 
completely ruined. The choir and transept are the only parts of the build- 
ing made use of for divine service ; the choir being occupied by the Greeks, 
and the transept by the Armenians : the place of the Nativity being 
common property of both sects. 

29th. Made a view of the village of Bethlehem ; finished my sections of 
the church, and, being unable to conclude a bargain with an Arab to take 
us to Hebron, for which he demanded fifteen piastres, we returned to 
Jerusalem, and finished the day by drinking tea with Mr. Nicolayson. 

The whole of the following day was employed in the disagreeable labour 
of packing our baggage, and preparing for our journey to Nablous, for 
which we engaged to pay eighty-five piastres ; the distance being thirty- 
five miles, or two short days. 



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CHAPTER VII. 

Departure from Jerusalem — Method of Cultivation — Terracing the Mountains — 
Density of Ancient Population — El Beer — Pass the Night in a Mosque — Inquisi- 
tiveness of the Soldiers — Khan Leban — Supposed Site of Bethel — Nablous — 
Reception by a Jew— Vermin — Change of Lodging — Kindness of the Governor — 
Mosques, Baths, Bazaars, &c. — Population of Nablous — Identity with the Ancient 
Shechem — Ebal and Gerizim — Samaritan Controversy— Code of the Sam aritans — 
Revolt — Blockade by Cerealis — Second Rebellion — Temple on Gherizim — Joseph's 
Sepulchre — Ancient Method of Sepulture in Caverns — Jacob's Well — Beer 
Yussuf — Sebaste— Beer Sheba — Ruined Norman Church — Prison of John Baptist — 
Ruined Columns — Temple of Herod — Citadel — Attempt to Visit Djeraash — Valley 
of the Jordan — Inundation — Repose in a Cavern — Impracticability of Crossing 
the River — Return to Nablous — Danger from Arabs — Detention at Nablous — 
Weather — Continued Kindnesses from the Governor — Preparations for Visiting 
Acre. 

On the 1st of December, about one o'clock p. m., our caravan, consisting 
of seven mules, left Jerusalem for Nablous. We had made all our prepara- 
tions, and taken a friendly leave of the friars, in whose convent we had 
been entertained during our stay in the Holy City. They were much 
delighted with the present of a cooking apparatus, which we left behind, 
not expecting to require its use during the journey which lay before us. 
With the benefit of the hearty good wishes for our safety and happiness 
expressed by the good Fathers, we proceeded (having first obtained a kind 
of passport from the Cadi) through the Damascus gate. 

On quitting the walls, we entered upon a rugged and mountainous 
country, though exhibiting considerable capabilities of cultivation. There 
is no doubt but that Palestine, like some parts of China, though an 
extremely irregular and rocky country, was made to produce crops, driven 
in quantity to the very highest point of productiveness, by rutting the 



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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



declivities into terraces, which were covered with rich mould, either fac- 
titious or brought from the most fertile parts of the valley. 

The cause of this was probably the immense density of the population 
during the whole time of the occupation of the Holy Land by the Twelve 
Tribes : which was prevented from relieving itself by diffusion over a more 
extended surface, as well as from emigration, by the peculiarity of the 
politico-religious constitution of that singular nation, which was peculiarly 
adapted to confine the inhabitants within a strict and well defined boundary. 
Thus subjected to a kind of condensing pressure, the Jews were obliged to 
cultivate with a minute care — confined, in all probability, among the more 
sparely populated countries, to horticulture alone — every spot, however 
unpromising, of their hilly territory. The result of this system, as we 
find related in the sacred writings, and confirmed by numerous profane 
authors, was the production in great abundance of oil, corn, and wine, of the 
very highest quality. Nor indeed does it appear that there ever existed a 
people so devoted to, and skilful in, agricultural and rural employments as 
the Israelites. This character is still perceptible in the present cultivators 
of Palestine, though the paucity of the population prevents them from pro- 
ducing results proportionate to their individual industry. 

I observed the growing of the mulberry, a common crop here, and ma- 
naged with the greatest care and attention. 

Of the method of cultivation Maundrell makes mention : " The hus- 
bandry," says he, " of these mountains was performed thus ; their manner 
was to gather up the stones, and place them in several lines along the sides 
of the hills, in form of a wall. By such borders they supported the mould 
from tumbling, or being washed down, and formed many beds of excellent 
soil, rising gradually one above another from the bottom to the top of the 
mountains." The system of terracing is very observable in some parts of 
the vine country on the steep banks of the Rhine. 

After three hours' travelling we reached a village called El Beer, which 



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89 



exhibits some marks of having 1 been a more considerable place in former 
times. This Maundrell supposes to be the Beer mentioned in Judges, ix. 
21 : " And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer." 

Near the well which gives name to this place is a ruined khan, and, 
on the summit of a neighbouring hill, the remains of a convent. The only- 
shelter which we could obtain for our night's rest was a miserable mosque, 
in the centre of which we made a fire to keep out the cold and rain, which 
was so severe as to prevent our departure the next day. Four soldiers of 
the Pacha arrived from Keick, a place at no great distance, who were 
exceedingly curious to know our object in travelling ; any explanation 
which we attempted appearing only to increase their incredulity. As 
evening approached, we tried to forget our discomfort and misery in sleep, 
but this, from the smoke and filth with which the place was filled, we found 
almost impossible. 

The delight with which I hailed the dawn of the following day may be 
more easily imagined than described. We left this wretched spot about 
eight o'clock in the morning, when our route layover a hilly country. After 
proceeding a short distance, we passed a small valley, called Khan Leban ; 
here were the remains of a khan, and also spring of fine water. Maundrell 
speaks of the ancient Bethel having been possibly near this spot; but a 
ruined village and monastery are very vague guides to assist in fixing an 
ancient locality. On either side of our route lay villages. While anxiously 
looking for Mount Gerizim, at the foot of which lies the town of Nablous, 
my speculations were damped by a considerable fall of rain. We however 
reached the gates at half past five p. M. The badness of the weather pre- 
vented us from appreciating the beauty of the gardens by which the town 
is surrounded, and drove us to seek shelter as soon as possible. This we 
first obtained at the house of a Jew, who received us with greal kindness 
and hospitality; but the place was so small and filthy, thai wre were obliged 
to apply to the governor for accommodation, w ho promised to find us good 

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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



lodging the next morning. We were therefore obliged to return to our 
first quarters, where it was impossible to obtain a wink of sleep, fatigued 
as we then were. The quantity of vermin by which we were attacked was 
perfectly incredible. 

On the following day, the governor performed his promise, by providing 
us with an apartment which was clean, and not without some specimens of 
Turkish decoration. Nor did his civility stop here ; he added to the obligation 
by sending us our meals from his own table, accompanied by an assurance of 
willingness to assist us in any respect in his power. After calling to thank 
him for this agreeable and rather unusual hospitality, we proceeded to 
examine this curious and interesting town. 

It is situated about thirty-four miles to the north of Jerusalem. Within 
the town I observed six mosques ; the principal of which was formerly a 
Christian church. The doorway of entrance into this building is curious, 
and well worthy of notice. It has a porch supported by Corinthian 
columns, on which is a highly enriched pointed arch in the Saracenic style 
of architecture. We also visited some of the baths, which are good ; and the 
bazaars, all possessing a degree of splendour which we had hardly ex- 
pected. There are also many cotton and soap manufactories. 

The present population of Nablous is estimated at about ten thousand. 
There seems to be but little doubt that the Shechem of the Scriptures 
occupied this site, from the bearings of Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, between 
which both the ancient Shechem and the modern city lay. This is ascer- 
tained by the fact that it was from these hills that Joshua, by the command 
of God, given to Moses, read the blessings and cursings to the Israelites, 
Joshua, viii, 33, 34.* Maundrell mentions the Samaritans as existing at 
the time of his visit, in the year 1697. His account is so interesting that 
I cannot do better than give it to the reader. " I took the opportunity to 
go and visit the chief priest of the Samaritans, in order to discourse with 

* From Gerizim the former were pronounced, and the latter from Ebal. 



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91 



him respecting this and some other difficulties in the Pentateuch. As for 
the difference between the Hebrew and Samaritan copy, Deuteronomy, 
xxvii. 4, the priest pretended that the Jews had maliciously altered the 
text, out of odium to the Samaritans, putting for Gerizim, Ebal, upon no 
other account but only because the Samaritans worshipped in the former 
mountain ; which they would have, for that reason, not to be the true place 
appointed by God for his worship and sacrifice." 

The founder of this sect, so remarkable for its inveterate enmity against 
the Jews, was Sanballat, a Cuthite. Like the Sadducees, the Samaritans 
rejected the whole of the Old Testament, excepting the Pentateuch. Their 
temple is said to have been on Mount Gerizim, whither they retired, after 
joining the Jews in a revolt against the Roman government in Judea. The 
Roman General, Cercalis, blockaded them in this position with six hundred 
horse and three hundred foot; but they obstinately refused every condition 
of surrender, and were nearly all put to the sword under the Emperor 
Justinian. In spite of this unsuccessful attempt, they again revolted, with 
chances considerably improved ; having increased in strength, and chosen 
a desperate leader, they made a vigorous effort for their freedom ; by which, 
as Gibbon says, one hundred thousand either perished or were sold into 
slavery. 

The remnant, however, of this people was never totally exterminated, 
and under Mount Gerizim they continued to take up their abode so late as 
the year 1776. Their Chief Priest at Nablous held a correspondence 
with the learned Scaliger, defending the Samaritan against the Hebrew 
Pentateuch, which, though differing so slightly from each other, had caused 
a great schism between the two churches. 

Their religious code w as extremely simple, and ran thus — They were to 
believe in one God, and the law s of his servant Moses ; they were to 
practice circumcision, the inviolable observance of* the Sabbath, the 
Passover, the Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles, with the solemn 

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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



fast and expiation ; but no sacrifices could be offered anywhere but on 
Mount Gerizim. 

The ruined tomb of a Sheikh, and the remains of a tank, is all that 
this once sacred and celebrated mountain presented to gratify our 
curiosity. It is, however, extremely probable that judicious excavation in 
this mountain might restore to light some relics of the ancient Samaritan 
temple. 

This Temple was probably nearly or entirely levelled with the ground 
during the persecution under Justinian, and has never since risen from its 
ruins. Still some of the foundations might be discovered, sufficient, perhaps, 
to assist the antiquary in forming an opinion respecting the style and extent 
of the edifice. Very few of the sect are to be found at Nablous. 

Extending our walk without the city toward Mount Gerizim, we passed 
a mosque said to have been erected over Joseph's sepulchre. At the foot 
of Mount Ebal several caverns may be observed, evidently tombs. 

This practice of burying in lateral excavations in the rock is of most 
remote antiquity, as we are informed in numberless passages of the Old 
and New Testament. Among the most remarkable are that which relates 
that Abraham was buried in the cave of Machpelah before Mamri ; Joshua 
on the side of the hill of Gaash in Ephraim ; Genesis, xxv. 9; Joshua, 
xxiv. 30. There is a great difference of opinion among travellers respecting 
the situation of Jacob's Well, where our Saviour held the memorable con- 
versation with the Samaritan woman. That without the present town, and 
known by the name of El Beer Samaria, seems to correspond with that 
spoken of John, iv. 6. It is in the midst of a field, which would answer to 
the " parcel of ground" bought by Jacob: and at a small distance are 
several sepulchral excavations. On approaching the well, a stone vault is 
all that presents itself; this is filled up with stones and rubbish, but at the 
bottom is an excavation in the rock, covered in a great measure by a large 
stone. It was dry, and appeared, from the time of the descent of a stone, 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



93 



to be of considerable depth. Maundrell makes it thirty-five feet. Here is 
also a modern building over a well ; this is known by the name of Beer 
Yussuf ; what is called the Beer Yacoob being within the town; which, if 
the modern Nablous corresponds at all with Shechem, must be a complete 
disproval of the identity of the modern with the ancient Beer Yacoob. 

The next place of interest near Nablous is the ancient Sebaste, which we 
reached in about three quarters of an hour ; the road taking a n. w. direc- 
tion. We passed a spring of good water, which bears the name of Beer 
Sheba. This might have been the position of the well dug by Isaac's 
servant, recorded Genesis, xxvi. 32. At a short distance from this place, 
we passed the remains of a Roman aqueduct ; and at about two hours 
from Nablous we arrived at the ruins of a church in the Norman style of 
architecture, said to be built over the spot where John the Baptist was 
beheaded. The exterior of the apsis is of an octangular form, and enriched 
with circular and pointed arches alternately. Here I was shown by the 
Sheikh of the village, who also acted as cicerone, a vault, probably an 
ancient place of interment, which is now dignified by representing the 
prison of John the Baptist. It was not more than ten feet square, and had 
long niches in the walls. A stone door was also lying against the wall ; 
from which the most probable conclusion which we can draw is, that it was 
a place of sepulture. 

The Sheikh attempted to explain the fragments of rows of columns 
which lay scattered about. 

The principal colonnade extended from f.. to w., one extremity ter- 
minating in the door of the church. The shafts arc plain, but none of the 
capitals exist. 

Some fragments of a bad Ionic are to be seen about; this probably was 
the older in which the whole structure was erected. 

This city was rebuilt by Herod the Great, and Josephus states that he 
here erected a temple; but, excepting the fragments of about sixty columns, 



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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



no Roman architecture remains. The place, however, must have been 
much injured during the crusades, and the reverses of fortune, according 
to the dominant part of the moment, tended equally to obliterate every 
trace of ancient grandeur. Cross and Crescent, Saracen or Templar, left 
behind them the same desolation. The Crusaders frequently employed the 
remains of Roman buildings which they found, as materials for their own 
churches ; and many of these later erections have followed their Roman 
predecessors. 

Here is a large ruined convent of Gothic architecture, to which the 
above account will apply : and on an elevated ground is shown the remains 
of walls, which are reported to have formed part of the citadel. This, being 
strongly fortified, and commanding a valley on every side, must have been 
a position of great strength and importance. 

On returning to Nablous, we determined to attempt the journey to 
Djeraash, which lies on the other side of Jordan, and is a spot seldom 
visited by travellers from its situation and from the difficulty of access 
which it presents. It was visited by Burckhardt, who described the Roman 
remains which it contains as very interesting. 

Having engaged a man to accompany us with four mules, for which we 
paid about ten dollars, we soon quitted the pleasanter part of the road, and 
began to ascend the mountains, where, in consequence of the late rains, 
we found the road almost impracticable. Slowly and toilsomely we pro- 
ceeded, till, on descending, we entered the valley of the Jordan, many parts 
of which were inundated. The passage of the river we found it would be 
madness to attempt ; so, after resting in a cavern for the night, we were 
obliged to return to Nablous, blessing ourselves, moreover, that we were 
fortunate enough to escape the parties of straggling Arabs which infest 
the banks of the Jordan, and with whom a rencontre would be dangerous, 
if not fatal. 

We were also thankful that no ill consequences but fatigue had resulted 



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95 



from being exposed for two days and two nights among these dreary moun- 
tains. We remained three more days at Nablous, during which time the 
governor still continued to show us every attention, but which were useless 
and tedious in the extreme. The continual rains entirely preventing any 
excursions, we took the very earliest opportunity of favourable weather to 
continue our journey to Acre; for which distance we agreed with a mule- 
teer to provide us with six mules for about eight dollars. 



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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAT AND JERUSALEM. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Departure for Nablous — Atharus — Plain of Esdraelon — Nazareth — Mount Tabor 
— Inundation — Latin Convent — Columns of the Annunciation — Miraculous Sus- 
pension — Ruins — House of Joseph and Mary — Flight of the Holy House to Loretto 
— Apparent Security of the Monks — Character of the Monks — Revenue of the 
Convent — Joseph's Workshop — The Table of Our Saviour — Certificate of Authen- 
ticity — Synagogue where Christ Preached — Site of the Town — Rock of Precipi- 
tation — Marks on the Stone — Expense of the Convent and of the Christian 
Establishments in Palestine — Population — Quit Nazareth — Sepphous, or Sep- 
phoris — Jewish University — Treachery of the Inhabitants — Frequent Revolt — 
The House of Joachim and Anna — Destruction of the Place in a.d. 339 — Fountain 
of Rendezvous— Archbishopric of Sepphoris — Cause of its Decline — Shefamear — 
Prospect of the Village — Sight of Acre — Ancient City of Zabulon — Inundation 
of the Plain — Roman Road — Palus Cendovia — Sandy Soil — Exportation of 
Sand to Genoa and Venice — Cross the River Belus — Enter Acre — Confusion of 
the Town — Latin Convent — Hospitality of the Monk — Kindness of the Bey, 
Representing the Divan Effendi — Difficulty of Procuring Mules — Ruins and 
Devastation of the Place — Mosque, Palace of Abdallah Pasha, Fountains, &c. — 
Repair of the Principal Breach — Artillery — Restoration of Acre by Djezzar 
Pasha — Defended by Sir Sidney Smith against Buonaparte — Population — Position 
— Fragments of Ancient Architecture — Roads between Acre and Jerusalem. 

Leaving Nablous at half past 9 a. m., we proceeded along- a mountain 
road, through a tract of which dreariness and monotony were the principal 
characteristics, for six hours; when we arrived at a small village called 
Atharus, where great fatigue, in spite of the shortness of our day's journey, 
made repose unusually grateful. 

Quitting this place at 8 the following morning, we continued to travel for 
a short time among the mountains, but soon began to descend into a suc- 
cession of small plains, which bore marks of cultivation, extremely agree- 
able to an eye wearied with contemplating the sterile uniformity of the 



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hills. We now entered the Plain of Esdraelon, keeping- on our right Mount 
Tabor, which, however, I could hardly perceive from the thick state of the 
atmosphere. From the appearance of the sky I despaired of reaching 
Nazareth without experiencing a heavy shower ; but we were fortunate 
enough to reach the gates at 4 p. m., tolerably dry, although we had been 
surrounded with water for some time, and had found considerable difficulty 
in crossing the various streams which were swelled by the rain. 

As we crossed the plain our horses were frequently up to their bellies in 
mud and water. 

Immediately on our arrival at this memorable town, we proceeded to the 
Latin Convent, which is situated on the eastern side. On presenting 
ourselves, we were received by one of the fathers with great distrust and 
dislike, as he took us for Turks ; nor were his suspicions destroyed by 
our assurances of our real character of English travellers. 

An interview, however, with the Superior set all right again, and 
from him we received every attention. The continuance of the bad 
weather, and the state of the roads, which were impassable from the 
swollen streams, gave us full leisure to examine Nazareth, by confining 
us for three days, a period for investigating the antiquities, rather too long 
for the interest believed to be attached to them. 

The great curiosity (with the usual miraculous legend attached to it) 
are two granite columns, standing in front of the altar of the church, 
which the monks assert occupy the identical spots which the Virgin and 
the Angel occupied at the Annunciation. 

The column of the Virgin has been broken away at the bottom, in such 
a manner that the shaft remains suspended from the roof. This is deemed 
miraculous, and, of course, undeniably proves the authenticity of the 
holy spot; for you arc told that the pillar cannot be supported in any way. 
Tncrc can, however, be no doubt as to the nature of its attachment to 
the roof. On inquiring how long the column had so remained, we re- 

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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



ceived the characteristic answer, " Ever since the time of the Annuciation !" 
This broken column bears the reputation of healing all kinds of diseases, 
though a railing which surrounds it proves that the fear of infection has 
been stronger than superstitious reverence. 

The Latin Convent is a spacious and convenient building, which has 
been repaired about a century ago. The ancient structure is supposed to 
have been the work of the Empress Helena, to whom may be ascribed so 
many of the convents and churches in the Holy Land. A good number of 
fragments of columns, capitals, &c, show tolerably well the style of archi- 
tecture, which differed but little from other structures of the same date. 

Within the Convent we were shown the house of Joseph and Mary, and 
a cavern divided into several compartments, to which are attached the 
titles of the parlour, bed-room, and kitchen of the mother of Jesus ; and 
here the greatest miracle was related, namely, the Flight of the Holy 
House to Loretto ; to confirm my belief in which, the monks showed me 
the place from which it was removed. From the apparent sincerity of the 
monks, the openness of their manners, and the simplicity with which they 
related their miracles, I have no doubt that these good Fathers most 
implicitly believed the truth of what they related. 

This impression was agreeable after having witnessed the knavery of so 
many friars in relating, without a blush, miraculous accounts, of which 
it was quite impossible they could believe a single syllable. 

The house of Joseph and Mary occupies in length nearly the breadth of 
the church, the interior of which, as well as the columns, are tapestried 
with rich silk, which produces a glowing and almost gorgeous effect. 

The broken column is probably the effect of Turkish avarice, which has 
at some time committed this injury in a search for treasure, supposed to 
be buried beneath it. 

In the convent is an establishment of fifteen monks, who are mostly either 
Spaniards, or of Spanish extraction. The interior of the building is kept 



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99 



extremely clean and neat; the monks appearing- industrious and orderly. 
The Convent is, in some degree, supported from some houses in the village 
which it possesses ; but by far the most important portion of its revenue 
is supplied by the brethren at Jerusalem. 

Near the Convent I was conducted to a small church, which I was 
informed was built over Joseph's workshop. It has been repaired since 
Maundrell's visit to this place, when he describes it as having been in 
ruins. No miracle, wonderful to relate, has been attached to this spot. 

We next visited a small chapel which preserves the most celebrated 
relic in Nazareth. This is the table on which Christ fed with his disciples. 
It is a stone slab of about twelve feet by eight, standing in the centre of 
the chapel. On this you are told our Saviour dined both before and after 
his resurrection. It appears to be composed of the common limestone, 
which is plentiful over the whole Terra Santa, and is fixed firmly in the 
ground, with which, however, the upper surface is by no means parallel. 
It bears some traces of having been formerly covered with iron. Round the 
walls of the chapel are suspended copies of a printed certificate in Latin, 
asserting its authenticity. 

" Traductio continua est, et nunquam interrupta, apud omnes nationes 
Orientales, hanc petram, dictam ' Mensa Christi,' illam ipsam esse, supra 
quam Dominus noster Jesus Christus cum suis comedit discipulis, ante et 
post suam resurrectionem a Mortuis. 

" Et sancta Romana Kcclesia indulgcntiam concesset scptem annorum et 
totidem quadragenarum omnibus Christi fidelibus hunc sanctum locum 
\ isitantibus. recitando saltern ibi unum Pater et Ave dummodo sit in statu 
gratiae. " 

This is a great object of reverence not only to the Christians but even 
to the Arabs, who imagine that what is looked upon with such profound 
respect by the other sects must have some miraculous qualities. 

The synagogue, where Christ preached, and exasperated the .lews by 



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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



his application of the words of Isaiah to himself, was next shown. This 
is a small chapel, formerly in possession of the Greeks, but which has 
since passed to that of the Latin fraternity. 

The modern town is built on the side of a hill, as described by St. Luke ; 
it is likewise surrounded by hills which are in many points dangerously 
abrupt and precipitous. 

This was too good an opportunity to be lost on the monks, who have, 
accordingly, fixed upon a spot to represent the place where our Saviour 
was conducted by the incensed Jews.* To this they frequently repair for the 
purpose of celebrating mass. It has evidently been selected from its great 
height and almost inaccessible situation, and is a point on which no part of 
the ancient city could by any possibility have stood. It is besides two miles 
from the present town. On a large stone, in an upright position, are some 
indentations, which you are told are the marks of Christ's hands and feet, 
made in his struggles to resist the violence. 

The church at Nazareth is, according to Burckhardt, only inferior to that 
of the Holy Sepulchre, and contains two good organs. Within the walls are 
two gardens and a burying-ground. The annual outlay of this establish- 
ment is estimated at about £900, some of which is defrayed by the corn crops. 

The whole yearly expenses of the religious occupation of the Holy Land 
cannot be less than £15,000, of which the Pasha of Damascus receives 
about four-fifths. 

The town itself, of Nazareth, now pronounced Nazzara, is one of the 
principal members of the Pachalik of Acre. The population is estimated 
at 3,000, of whom, however, the Turks constitute but a small part, about 
500; of the Christians, the Greeks are said to be the most numerous. The 
Latins were reckoned by Burckhardt at about ninety families. There is 
also a small congregation of Maronites. 

After examining and re-examining all the places of interest in Nazareth 

* Luke, iv., 29. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



101 



during three tedious and rainy days, we set out, with the feelings of 
liberated captives, for Acre. 

Our route continued for some time among the hills : the scenery to the 
north of the valley of Nazareth possessing considerable grandeur of form, 
though the thickness of the weather injured that part of its effect depen- 
dent on the variety of colour. 

The soil appeared possessed of great fertility, though the surface w-as 
covered with innumerable stones. The first object of interest, about three 
hours from Nazareth, is the site of the ancient Sepphoris, where we 
observed some remains of fortification on a hill, which were probably the 
work of Herod the Great, who rebuilt the place after its destruction by the 
Roman proconsul, Varus, and made it the principal city of his tetrarchy. 

This was anciently the seat of an university for the education of the 
Jewish Rabbis, in which character it is mentioned in the Talmud. In 
this once important place was holden one of the five sanhedrim, or courts 
of judicature in Palestine, the others being Jerusalem, Jericho, Gadara, and 
Amathus. From its natural position and the addition of artificial defence, 
it had the reputation of impregnability, and was often the stronghold of 
therevolters in the numerous attempts made to throw off the Roman yoke. 

In the time, however, of Vespasian the inhabitants of Sepphoris, by 
treaty with Ccstius Gallus, admitted a Roman garrison within their walls. 

In the time of Constantino a church was erected here, over the supposed 
site of the house of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Virgin Mary. 

Under the successor of that Emperor, namely, Constantius, about \. d. 
339, the city was entirely destroyed by the Romans, in order to put an 
end to the perpetual tumults and rebellions of the citizens. At this time 
the church probably was involved in the general destruction. It appears, 
however, to have been frequented by the Crusaders, which supposition is 
founded upon some Gothic remains. Their plan appears to have been a 
Greek cross, one aisle still remaining entire ; at the east end of which is 



102 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



an altar of loose stones, exhibiting- the reverence with which the pilgrims 
have continued to regard the spot. The modern village is principally- 
inhabited by Maronites, and we perceived the remains of a kind of castle 
on the top of a hill about half a mile above. 

At a short distance to the south-east was a fountain, which was fre- 
quently a place of rendezvous for the troops during the occupation of 
Palestine, under the singular and unnatural monarchy of Jerusalem. 

Sepphoris was an archiepiscopal see, having under it the bishopric of 
Tiberias. To its proximity to Nazareth is probably to be attributed the 
decay of the place ; the jealousy of rival religious establishments drawing 
away the Latins and leaving it in possession of the Greek schismatics. 

After riding five hours, we reached a small village overlooking the plain 
of Acre and the sea ; its name was Shefameer : here we remained for the 
night ; the fatigue of the mules from the badness of the roads rendering 
it impracticable to reach Acre. 

We gained a shelter in a miserable Khan, which had been erected for 
the accommodation of travellers. 

The name of this village has been more unfortunate than is usual, even 
among Oriental appellations, having been spelt Chafamora, Swamor, Shafa- 
amre, Shefhamer, and Sheffhambre. 

The view from the eminence of which this many-named village stands, 
was grand in the extreme. The eye is delighted with a succession of 
ridges rising one above the other from Libanus to Carmel. 

The site of the ancient, strong city, the " City of Men," as it was called 
according to Josephus, the city of Zabulon, is looked for in vain. " It 
was of admirable beauty," says the historian, " and had its houses built 
like those in Tyre, Sidon, and Berytus." 

The country in which it is situated, like the whole of the plain, is of an 
admirable fertility and verdure, being well watered. 

On leaving this village in the morning, we began to descend, and soon 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



103 



reached the plain, which we found so much flooded as to render our 
progress slow and difficult in the extreme. Wading- through this for about 
two hours, we reached a portion of the road which had been paved ; pro- 
bably this was part of a Roman road, made to render the marsh ground, of 
which character the plain in general is, practicable for passage. This 
marsh is caused by the river Belus, whose course it follows, and was known 
to the ancients by the name of the Palus Cendoria. As we approached 
the sea, the soil became more sandy. 

Of this very sand, Pliny relates, the first glass was manufactured, and 
even so late as the 17th century the glasshouses of Venice and Genoa were 
supplied with sand from this river. This stream we crossed near the mouth, 
where it was just fordable on horseback, and the town of Acre began to 
show its war-worn and battered front. 

The buildings were nearly all in ruins from the late siege which the 
city had undergone from Ibrahim Pasha. They strikingly exhibited proof 
both of the valour of the attack and the desperation of the defence. After 
riding for two hours we entered the walls. The fortifications appeared 
almost impregnable, and if defended by another Sir Sidney Smith would 
probably resist any assault. 

I shall never forget the scene of noise, confusion, and devastation which pre- 
sented itself on our entry into the town : the streets were crowded with the 
troops of Mahomet Ali, the Pasha of ligypt.who poured along every avenue in 
complete disorder, and still violently contending with each other. 

After many intricate windings and a good deal of pushing and piloting 
among the crowd of men and animals, we succeeded in reaching the Latin 
Convent, which seemed to have Buffered less than any building we had 
hitherto passed. A single monk was the sole inhabitant at the time, but 
he received us with all the hospitality in his power, and immediately 
accommodated us with apartments. Our next care was to proceed to the 
palace of the Divan Effendi, for whom we had a letter of recommendation. 



104 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



We were not, however, fortunate enough to see him, but his place was 
supplied by the Bey, who represented him and managed his affairs 

We found him extremely polite and attentive. He offered us every kind 
of assistance, and also letters to the governors of any towns we might 
intend to visit. 

After acquainting him that we wished for mules to proceed on our 
journey the next day, and which, without the assistance of some official 
person, it would be almost impossible to procure, he very kindly promised 
to attend to our request, and sent a Janissary to accompany us round the 
city, and to show us the details of that scene of rum. 

We ascended the ramparts. Among the most striking ruins were the 
principal mosque and the palace of Abdaliah Pasha, which, from their 
commanding height, afforded the most conspicuous mark for the shells. 
The beauty of the latter was perfectly annihilated ; every thing had been 
wilfully destroyed, either by the madness of the victors or the despair of 
the conquered. 

The beautiful fountains no longer fell sparkling from their marble basins, 
refreshing the splendid garden where art had rivalled nature in the effort 
to give pleasure to a man who, by the caprice of fortune, was now reduced 
to the condition of the most abject slave. They were now polluted by 
groups of dirty, noisy soldiers. 

The sites of the various buildings were indistinctly marked by confused 
heaps of broken columns and shattered friezes ; but it was quite in vain to 
attempt to identify any of the magnificent buildings erected by the Crusa- 
ders, in whose time it was a place of the greatest importance, both from 
its position and strength, sustaining several sieges. 

I remarked that the walls were much damaged in innumerable points 
by the cannonade, which appeared to have been carried on with the greatest 
fury ; but I saw no attempts at reparation, excepting in the great breach 
on the eastern side. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



105 



There was a great profusion of artillery, some of the pieces of most 
beautiful workmanship, principally of French and German manufacture. 
At sunset I returned to the convent, with my head full of battles and 
sieges, and in a state of mind rendered melancholy by those reflections 
which the sight of a theatre of war, deprived of all the illusion and 
excitement of actual conflict, must naturally excite. 

Here was nothing but the ruin without the pomp of military operations, 
and few I think could avoid being affected by the thought of the immense 
addition to human suffering and misery which this fierce siege had made. 
The goodnatured face of the friar, who met us at the door of the convent, 
his cordial welcome, cheerful conversation, and agreeable curiosity respect- 
ing England, soon chased away these cloudy and melancholy impressions 
excited by the scene of devastation which I had just witnessed. 

The next morning, being anxious to leave Acre for Sour, the ancient 
Tyre, our first care was to make an agreement with a muleteer for the 
journey, and, in consideration of the delay which we must expect in making 
the arrangements for our departure, we proceeded to do so immediately 
after dining with the holy Father, and were in readiness to start at half 
past one. 

I felt but little regret at leaving a place the scene of such ruin, and 
where the lawless confusion of the troops quartered there, made it a 
matter of great difficulty to procure even the common necessaries of life : but 
it was impossible to avoid feeling, more strongly by contrast the value of 
so hospitable an asylum as I was then on the point of quitting. 

The city of Acre, which had fallen into decay after the expulsion of the 
Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, who occupied it for a long period 
of time during the Crusades, was restored and re-fortified by the celebrated 
Djezzar Pasha, who, by means of being master of this place, gained 
complete influence in Syria, utterly disproportionate to the extent of his 
territory. 

v 



106 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



The reason of this is as follows : Acre being the port by which all the 
rice, the staple food of the people, enters the country, the possessor of that 
place can produce a famine throughout the whole land. 

With the intention of profiting by this, the French army, under General 
Buonaparte, after repeated attempts (twelve, I believe) to carry the place, 
were obliged to raise the siege. The town was most gallantly defended 
by Sir Sidney Smith. 

The population of Acre has been fixed at about 20,000, but of the cor- 
rectness of this census our short stay, and the multitudes of troops in the 
city, prevented us from judging. 

The strength of the place arises from its favourable position, being 
washed by the sea on the south and west. We could discern scarcely any 
trace of the bay in the east. 

Though the remains, both Christian and barbarian, of the former gran- 
deur of Acre were in general destroyed, the immense quantity of fragments 
of fine marble, bearing traces of skilful workmanship and magnificent 
proportion, shows how rich in architectural antiquities the place must have 
been, and, at the same time, exhibits no more to the stranger than excites 
his regret, without gratifying his curiosity. Many of these fragments have 
been several times ruins, and have doubled and trebled, as it were, their 
services. 

It would require no great stretch of imagination to suppose that the 
proportion of marble now lying before our eyes once formed a part of 
some Roman or Hebrew edifice, that it was then used by the Crusaders 
in the construction of this fortification, and again did duty in the palace 
of the Djezzar. 

It is ascertained that the latter made use of the extensive ruins of 
Cesarea, an ancient town on the coast between Acre and Jaffa, as his 
principal quarry ; in particular that he obtained from thence all the marble 
employed in the decoration of a very magnificent mosque. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



107 



There are two roads from Acre to Jerusalem; one by Cesarea and 
Joppa, running generally along the coast, the way by which St. Paul 
returned from Macedonia to Jerusalem, and the road by Nazareth, by 
which we had travelled. 



108 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Departure from Acre — Dullness of the Route — Chain of the Antt-Libanus — Pass 
the Night in the Mosque of Zib — Capo Bianco — Ladder of Tyrus — View of Libanus 

— Roman Road— View of Sour, or Tyre — Solomon's Cisterns — Ras el Ain — Tradi- 
tion — Size of the Cisterns — Construction — Aqueduct — Arrival at Sour — Fulfil- 
ment of the Prophecies — Defences of Ancient Tyre — Meaning of the Appellation 
— Population — Remains of Columns, &c. — East End of a Christian Cathedral — 
Curious Observation of Maundrell— Unsuccessful Attempt to Proceed — Accident 

— Quit Tyre — Cross theRiverKosmia — Remains of a Pavement — Sarepta — Approach 
to Saide (the Ancient Sidon) — Desolation of the City — Vineyards and Orchards 
— View of Sidon — Beauty of the Fruit — Determine to go to Beirout — Rest in a 
Khan — Accident with a Mule — View of Libanus — Fertility of the Mountain — 
Indications of iron in the Soil — Grove of Pines — Arrival at Beirout — Origin of 
the Name — History of the Town — Situation —Fountains — Wall — Conclusion. 

Having taken a cordial leave of the kind friar, and contributing a trifle 
to the support of the convent, we proceeded through the town over heaps 
of dust and rubbish, till we arrived near the sea-shore, where the road was 
tolerably good. For three hours and a half the view was monotonous in 
the extreme ; the plain of Acre extended on one side, on the other the 
ocean, still and unmoving as the former. This scene, though dull in 
itself, was nevertheless an agreeable contrast to the noise, tumult, and con- 
fusion which we had just quitted. Before us, at a considerable distance, 
rose the majestic summits of the Anti-Libanus, a chain of considerable 
elevation and imposing aspect. We soon arrived at a small village called 
Zib, where we took up our quarters for the night in a mosque. This 
place we quitted the following morning at nine o'clock, and after proceeding 
on our journey for about two hours, we arrived at Capo Bianco. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



109 



Ascending a rocky mountain, which is supposed to be the Ladder of 
Tyrus, mentioned by Josephus ; I observed the ruins of a castle, said to 
have been erected by Alexander the Great, from which lofty position I 
enjoyed a grand view of the snow-capped Libanus ; a short distance from 
hence the road winds along the face of a rock overhanging the sea ; this, I 
was informed, was the work of the Emperor Hadrian, being an exception 
to the general account of all public works in the east, which the inhabitants 
invariably attribute to Iskander Bey, or Alexander the Great. The view 
from the precipice downwards is absolutely terrific ; but, as the road is 
well walled in, the passage is perfectly safe. From this eminence may be 
obtained a prospect of Sour, the ancient Tyre. 

Proceeding on our course, after passing some torrents, which we forded 
with ease, our attention was first attracted, after passing Capo Bianco, 
to the stone cisterns called Solomon's Cisterns, at the village of Ras el A in. 

These are so accurately described by Maundrell, that I cannot do better 
than give his own words. " Roselayn (Ras el Ain) is a place where are the 
cisterns called Solomon's, supposed, according to common tradition, to 
have been made by that great king, as part of the recompense made to 
King Hiram for the supplies of materials sent by him toward the building 
of the Temple. They are doubtless very ancient, but yet of a much later 
date than this tradition ascribes to them. That they could not have been 
built till since Alexander's time may be conjectured from this, among other 
arguments ; because the aqueduct which conveys the water from hence to 
Tyre, is carried over the neck of land by which Alexander, in his famous 
siege of this place, joined the city to the continent. 

" Of these cisterns there are three entire at the present day ; one about 
a furlong and a half distant from the sea, and the other two a little higher 
up. The former is of an octagonal figure, twenty-two yards in diameter; it 
is elevated above the ground nine yards on the south side, and six on the 
north, and within is said to be of an unfathomable deepness ; but ten yards 



110 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



of line confuted that opinion. Its wall is of no better a material than gravel 
and small pebbles ; bat consolidated with so strong and tenacious a 
cement, that it seems to be all one entire vessel of rock. Upon the brink of 
it you have a walk round, eight foot broad, from which, descending by one 
step on the south side, and by two on the north, you have another walk 
twenty-one foot broad. 

" All this structure, though so broad at top, is yet made hollow, so that 
the water comes in underneath the walks. 

" The whole vessel contains a vast body of excellent water, and is so 
well supplied by its fountain, that though there issues from it a stream 
like a brook, driving four mills between this place and the sea, yet it is 
always brimfull. On the east side of this cistern was the ancient outlet to 
the water, by an aqueduct raised about six yards from the ground, and 
containing a channel one yard wide. 

" The aqueduct, now dry, is carried eastward about one hundred and 
twenty paces, and then approaches the other two cisterns, one of which is 
twelve, the other twenty, yards square. You may trace out the aqueduct 
all along by the remaining fragments of it. It goes about one hour 
northward, and then, turning to the west at a small mount, where anciently 
stood a castle, but now a mosque, it proceeds over the isthmus into the 
city." Maundrell, pp. 51, 52. 

In about six hours we arrived at Sour, after passing through a very 
fertile, but neglected, and almost uninhabited, plain. On our arrival, we 
immediately presented ourselves to the governor, who procured us a room, 
but did not seem disposed to treat us with much hospitality. From the 
lateness of the hour of our arrival, we expected that he would have sent us 
dinner; but some bread and bad cheese was the whole extent of his 
liberality. 

In spite, however, of such meagre fare, repose, after the fatiguing journey 
which we had just concluded, made us consider our situation as enviable. 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



Ill 



The morning found us burning with impatience to examine the ruins of a 
place once the head of a huge commercial empire, whose " merchants were 
princes, and her traffickers the honourable of the earth," and respecting 
which the prophecies have been so completely and wonderfully fulfilled. 
" She shall be like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading 
of nets in the middle of the sea." — Ezekiel, xxvi., 4, 5. This denunciation, 
though it might be considered as only a forcible metaphorical expression 
signifying the utter ruin which was to take place, is, at this day, literally 
and actually fulfilled ; the wretched inhabitants of the city gaining a 
miserable subsistence by fishing. 

The place is slightly fortified, and towards the sea surrounded by low 
reefs of rocks, which break the force of the swell. The ancient Tyre was 
undoubtedly surrounded completely by the sea ; having fortifications on 
the land side, and also corresponding defences on the terra firma; for we 
read that the latter were assaulted and taken by Nebuchadnezzar, King of 
Babylon, B. C. 573. 

The present town projects considerably into the sea ; and is built on a 
rocky base. Indeed the Hebrew name of this celebrated city, Tyoor, (pro- 
nounced by the Syrians Thoor,) signifies a rock. 

There is a small harbour in which the Greeks have made a feeble and 
unsuccessful attempt to revive the commerce with Damascus. Mr. Conner, 
who visited this place in 1820, was informed by the Greek Catholic Arch- 
bishop of Tyre, that there were 1200 Greek Catholics, 100 Greeks, 100 
Maronites, 200 Motomalees, and only about 100 Turks. This account, in 
all probability, greatly exaggerates the number of Greek Catholics. Within 
the walls are three Christian churches and one mosque. 

From the innumerable sieges which this ill-fated city has undergone, 
there arc scarcely any traces of its pristine magnificence and wealth. I 
noticed some fragments of huge columns of red granite, and the remains of 
a Christian church, which now forms pari of the wall. It is thus described 



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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



by Maundrell, in whose time no part of the present town existed. " In the 
midst of these ruins there stands up one pile higher than the rest, which is 
the east end of a great church, probably the cathedral of Tyre ; and why 
not the very same that was erected by its Bishop, Paulinus, and honoured 
with that famous consecration sermon of Eusebius, recorded by himself in 
his Eccl. Hist. x. 4, this having been an archiepiscopal see in the Christian 
times ? " 

The observation which follows the above lines is so curious that I 
cannot do wrong in laying it before my readers. " I cannot, in this 
place, omit an observation made by most of our company in this journey, 
viz., that in all the ruins of churches that we saw, though their other parts 
were totally demolished, yet the east end we always found standing, and 
tolerably entire. 

" Whether the Christians, when overrun by infidels, redeemed their 
altars from ruin with money, or whether even the Barbarians, when they 
demolished the other parts of the churches, might voluntarily spare 
these, out of an awe and veneration ; or whether they have stood thus long 
by virtue of some peculiar firmness in the nature of their fabric ; or 
whether some occult providence has preserved them, as so many standing 
monuments of Christianity in these unbelieving regions, and presages of its 
future restauration, I will not determine. This only will I say, that we 
found it, in fact, so as I have described in all the ruined churches which 
came in our way ; being, perhaps, not fewer than one hundred ; nor do I 
ever remember to have seen an instance of the contrary." 

We procured mules from the Mutzellim to proceed to Saide, or Sidon, 
but had scarcely proceeded a mile from Tyre, when our progress was 
delayed by an accident which it took some time to rectify. One of our 
beasts fell into a pool of water, from whence the weight of baggage with 
which he was laden prevented him from extricating himself. After some 
time, however, and a good deal of exertion, we succeeded in getting the 




© 
s 
sa 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



113 



animal out, but so much damage had been done that we were obliged to 
return to Sour to repair ; this forced us to pass another night in the rains 
of Tyre. 

We made another start the following morning under more fortunate 
auspices, and, passing the scene of yesterday's accident, we crossed the 
river Kasmin by a bridge of one arch. It was in an attempt to ford this 
stream that the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa was drowned. About 
fifteen miles from Sour, we passed some fragments, the remains of a 
tesselated pavement, evidently the site of an ancient city. This will in 
some degree correspond with Sarepta, which conjecture is confirmed by the 
name of a neighbouring village, Sarphad, which looks exceedingly like a 
corruption of the former word. The country about this part of our journey 
was barren and desolate to the last degree, but on approaching Saide the 
symptoms of cultivation became more defined. 

After a journey of about nine hours, we reached the gates of the town, 
which we found closed ; after a short delay, however, and with some 
difficulty, we succeeded in getting them opened for us; when we proceeded 
to a house appropriated to the accommodation of travellers, which 1 found 
extremely clean and comfortable. 

The next morning I anxiously sought for some vestiges of the ancient 
city; but, as in the case of Tyre, nothing can be discovered which can give 
the stranger any idea of its former extent or magnificence. 

Fragments of columns and huge stones, which, from their size and shape, 
must have formed parts of former edifices of extraordinary solidity, may 
here and there be observed among the rubbish. 

Upon a kind of projection from the present quay stand a castle and a 
bridge; throughout the whole of the town, once roaring with population, a 
deep and melancholy silence reigns. 

The present Sidon is surrounded by vineyards and orchards, which, 
at the time of my visit, appeared in a vigorous and flourishing state. 

Q 



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JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



On walking northward along the beach, I arrived, in about two hours, at 
a stream crossed by a bridge, from whence I enjoyed a most picturesque 
and lovely prospect in the direction of Saide. 

Returning by the hills, I was delighted to observe the fertile appearance 
of the soil, and the luxuriance of the vegetation. The orchards laden with 
fruit, the orange trees in full bloom, and the autumnal tints of the grapes, 
hanging in rich and ponderous clusters, contrasting strongly with the 
bright-hued leaf of the broad-spreading banana, united in producing a 
scene by which, together with the distant towers of Saide, and the blue, 
placid expanse of air and ocean, it was utterly impossible to avoid being 
strongly affected. Nature had here done her utmost. 

On my return to the town, I met a person in the service of the Pacha of 
Egypt, who had lately arrived in this country and was on his way to 
Beirout, charged with a mission to investigate the possibility of working 
some coal mines near that place. 

Being anxious to visit Beirout, the largest commercial port in Syria, we 
applied the next morning to the governor for mules to proceed on the 
journey, and experienced, as usual, much delay and considerable vexation. 

On quitting Sidon, which we succeeded at last in doing, our road lay for 
some time on the edge of the sea, and this, although no rain had lately 
fallen, we found in a very bad state. 

After riding about four miles, over which our progress was slow and 
toilsome, we took shelter in a khan on the road-side. 

On preparing for departure the next morning, one of the mules got 
loose, and it was two hours before the people could succeed in catching him. 
On leaving the khan, our road continued by the sea-side ; and at about 
three hours' distance from our journey's end, we were gratified by a very 
grand and imposing view of Libanus covered with snow. 

The side of the mountain is dotted by a great number of villages, which 
was accounted for by the extreme productiveness of the soil. I was 
carried across a river which we found too deep to ford, and after pro- 



JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 



115 



ceeding to within an hour's distance from Beirout the road rises among 
mountains of red sand, strongly impregnated with iron. 

There is a grove of beautiful Italian pines in the environs of the town, 
from which you descend to the walls. 

After a journey of eight hours from the khan, which we left in the 
morning, and a month's journeying from Jerusalem, I was glad to find 
accommodation at a small hotel kept by an Italian. 

The name of Beirout is nothing but a corruption of the ancient word 
Berytus, which is supposed to have been hellenicised from Berith, the 
appellation of an idol or Baal worshipped here. It was treated with great 
favour by the Emperor Augustus, who altered its name to Julia Felix. 

"At present," as Maundrell says, "it retains nothing of its ancient 
felicity, except, indeed, the happiness of its situation. It is seated on the 
sea-side, in a soil fertile and delightful, raised only so high above the salt 
water as to be secure from its overflowings, and all other noxious and 
unwholesome effects of that element. It has the benefit of good fresh 
springs flowing down to it from the adjacent hills, and dispensed all over 
the city, in convenient, and not unhandsome, fountains. 

" On the south side, the town wall is still entire, but built out of the ruins 
of the old city, as appears by pieces of pillars and marble which help to 
build it." 

Thus, then, finished my wanderings over the most interesting country on 
the earth ; a country which has excited alike the curiosity of the philosopher, 
the historian, and the Christian ; which has been so deeply, and yet so 
imperfectly, explored. 

The reflections which filled my mind at the conclusion of my labours, 
may be easily imagined. Though conscious of my inability to add anything 
to the treasures of information already accumulated respecting what may 
be called the scholastic, or antiquarian, views of this wonderful and sacred 
land ; I will not deny that I entertained a hope of being able, by faithful 
and unflattering delineation of the various spots which I was about to 



] 16 JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. 

present to my readers, to dispel the erroneous notions which have been 
frequently propagated, both by pen and pencil, respecting the actual present 
appearance of the scenes of Holy Writ. 

If I have in any measure succeeded in this attempt, I shall be amply 
rewarded ; and I trust that what my poor efforts want in pictorial beauty will 
be compensated by that strict fidelity which it was my first study to secure. 

Again begging to express my acknowledgments to the various authors 
to whose learning, perseverance, and courage, I, in common with all who, 
since the publication of their works, have visited Palestine, have been so 
much indebted, I conclude by entreating all the reader's indulgence for the 
errors, as well of commission as omission, which he must inevitably find in 
the foregoing pages ; accompanying this prayer by an assurance, that T was 
prompted to give these* sheets to the public, solely, by a sincere and un- 
affected wish to add my mite to the information already possessed by the 
world. 




ARRIVAL AT BEIROUT. 



THE END. 



LONDON : 

P. SHOBERL, JUN , LEICESTER STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE. 



3*177-6 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proce; 
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